|The  Spanish  Stage  in  t^ 
I  Time  of  Lope  de  Vega 


.^ 


by  Hugo  Albert  Rennert 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELLS 


THE  SPANISH  STAGE 


IN  THE  TIME  OF 


LOPE  DE  VEGA 


BY 
HUGO   ALBERT    RENNERT,  Ph.D.  (Freiburg  i.  B.) 


DOVER  PUBLICATIONS,  INC. 

NEW  YORK 


This  Dover  edition,  first  published  in  1963,  is 
an  unabridged  and  unaltered  republication  of  the 
text  of  the  work  first  published  by  the  Hispanic 
Society  of  America  in  1909.  The  "List  of  Spanish 
Actors  and  Actresses,  1560-1680"  appended  to  the 
first  edition  has  been  omitted  in  this  new  edition. 


Library  of  Congress  Catalog  Card  Number:  63-19513 


Manufactured  in  the  United  States  of  America 

Dover  Publications,  Inc. 

180  Varick  Street 

New  York  14,  N.Y. 


PA/ 

27  5Z 

PREFACE 

Little  more  than  a  decade  has  elapsed  since  the  attention 
of  scholars  has  again  been  directed  to  the  history  of  the 
Spanish  stage,  and  their  labors  have  been  rewarded  with 
most  unexpected  success.  While  these  results  have  been  due 
to  the  work  of  a  number  of  investigators— Sanchez-Arjona, 
Cotarelo,  Restori,  and  others— it  is  to  the  late  Dr.  Cris- 
tobal Perez  Pastor's  patient  and  unwearying  researches 
that  we  are  especially  indebted.  The  mass  of  material 
which  he  has  brought  to  light  will  always  form  the  founda- 
tion upon  which  others  must  build.  For  nearly  a  cen- 
tury, or  since  the  appearance  of  Pellicer's  work  upon 
the  Spanish  stage  in  1804  (excepting  the  very  important 
matter  contributed  by  Schack  in  the  Nachtrdge  to  his 
Geschichte  der  dramatischen  Literatur  und  Kunst  in 
Spanien,  1854),  little  of  importance  had  been  done  by 
scholars  in  this  field  until  very  recent  times.  About 
ten  years  ago  Perez  Pastor  began  investigations  in  the 
Archives  of  Madrid  and  other  Spanish  cities  that  have 
yielded  the  richest  results,  and  to  these  the  present  volume 
is  greatly  indebted.  The  labors  of  this  distinguished 
investigator  have,  moreover,  shown  that  the  first  volume 
\i  of  Pellicer's  Tratado  Historico  sobre  el  Origen  y  Pro- 
i\gresos  de  la  Comedia  y  del  Histrionismo  en  Espana, 
Madrid,  1804,  is,  upon  the  whole,  trustworthy  as  far  as 


124380 


vi  PREFACE 

it  goes,  and,  since  a  number  of  documents  to  which  Pelll- 
cer  had  access  seem  to  have  disappeared,  his  work  is  still 
valuable. 

It  was  with  the  purpose  of  utilizing  the  latest  researches 
of  the  scholars  above  mentioned,  and  such  other  informa- 
tion as  has  come  to  my  knowledge,  that  the  present  ac- 
count of  the  Spanish  stage  was  undertaken. 

The  amount  of  material  for  such  a  work  is  now  large. 
I  have  not  attempted  to  chronicle  every  known  fact,  and 
whether  I  have  always  chosen  what  is  most  important, 
must  be  left  for  others  to  judge.  Frequent  references  will 
be  found  in  the  course  of  the  succeeding  pages  to  the  stage 
history  of  other  countries,  especially  of  England  and 
France,  with  the  view  of  throwing  some  light  upon  the 
points  under  discussion.  They  may,  it  is  hoped,  be  not 
unwelcome  to  the  reader. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Chapter  I 3 

Early  religious  representations.  The  festival  of  Corpus 
Christi.  The  secular  drama.  Lope  de  Rueda.  Torres 
Naharro.    Early  secular  representations. 

Chapter  II 26 

The  corrales  of  Madrid.  The  Corral  de  la  Pacheca.  The 
Corral  de  Burguillos.  The  Corral  de  Puente.  The  founda- 
tion of  the  two  famous  theaters:  The  Corral  de  la  Cruz  and 
the  Corral  del  Principe. 

Chapter  III 47 

The  corrales  of  Seville.  Las  Atarazanas.  La  Alcoba.  San 
Pedro.  The  Huerta  de  Doha  Elvira.  The  Coliseo.  La 
Monteria. 

Chapter  IV 62 

Music  in  the  corrales.  Dancing.  Spectators  on  the  stage. 
Various  dances  and  bayles  at  Corpus  Christi.  The  Zara- 
banda,  Chacona,  Escarraman,  etc. 

Chapter  V .76 

The  staging  of  the  comedia.  English  court  plays.  The  Enter- 
taining Journey  of  Rojas.  Alonso  Lopez  Pinciano  on  staging. 
The  stage.  The  curtain.  Scenery.  Stage  machinery.  Apa- 
riencias.  Tramoyas.  The  French  stage.  Private  repre- 
sentations. 

Chapter  VI 104 

Costumes.  Their  impropriety.  Their  magnificence.  Costumes 
in  the  autos  sacramentales.  Performances  in  the  public  thea- 
ters. Prices  of  admission.  The  audiences.  The  mosque- 
teros.  Women  in  the  cazuela.  Ruffianism  in  the  theaters. 
Seats  in  the  corrales. 

Chapter  VII 137 

Women  on  the  stage.  In  France,  England,  and  Italy.  Women 
on  the  Spanish  stage.    The  companies  of  players.    Companias 


viii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

reales.  Companias  de  parte.  Smaller  companies.  The  Enter- 
taining Journey  of  Rojas.    The  traveling  of  companies. 

Chapter  VIII 159 

The  actors.  Their  hardships.  Alonso  de  Olmedo.  Juan  de 
Morales.  Roque  de  Figueroa.  Maria  de  Riquelme.  La  Cal- 
derona.  Adventures  of  actors  related  in  the  "Entertaining 
Journey."  The  term  autor  de  comedias.  Relations  of  dramatist 
and  manager.  The  stealing  of  plays.  Honorarium  of  dram- 
atists.   Collaboration. 


Chapter  IX 181 

The  salaries  of  actors  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centu- 
ries. Managers  turn  actors.  Corrales  in  various  cities. 
Valencia  as  a  theatrical  center.  It  is  visited  by  players  from 
Madrid.  Sums  received  by  managers  for  the  performance  of 
a  comedia.  For  autos  sacramentales.  Receipts  of  a  repre- 
sentation.   The  rental  of  the  corrales. 

Chapter  X 206 

Character  of  the  actors  and  'actresses.  Decrees  regulating 
theatrical  performances.  The  opposition  of  churchmen.  De- 
crees of  159S,  1600,  1603,  1608,  and  1615  for  the  reformation  of 
comedias. 


Chapter  XI 229 

Private  representations  before  the  King.  Philip  the  Third. 
Philip  the  Fourth.  The  latter's  fondness  for  the  theater.  Rep- 
resentations in  1622.  Festivals  at  Aranjuez.  The  "Buen 
Retiro."  Lope's  Selva  sin  Amor.  Dramatic  spectacles  by  Cal- 
deron.  Decree  of  1641  regulating  plays.  The  theaters  closed 
in  1646  and  again  in  1682. 

Chapter  XII 252 

The  "Partidas"  of  Alfonso  the  Learned  concerning  secular 
plays.  The  church  and  the  theater.  Public  players  declared 
infamous.  Opposition  of  the  clergy  to  the  theater.  It  is  mostly 
due  to  the  players.    Character  of  the  actresses. 

Chapter  XIII 274 

The  term  comedia  defined.  The  various  kinds  of  comedias. 
The  licensing  of  comedias.  The  representation  of  a  comedia. 
Loas,  Entremeses,  Jdcaras,  Sainetes,  Mogigangas. 


CONTENTS  ix 

PACK 

Chapter  XIV 297 

The  representation  of  autos  sacratnentales.  Description  of  the 
autos  at  Madrid.  The  carros.  Abuse  of  the  representation  of 
autos.  Protests  of  churchmen.  Suras  paid  for  the  representa- 
tion of  autos.  Autos  in  the  theaters.  Great  expense  of  these 
festivals. 

Chapter  XV 322 

Contemporary  accounts  of  the  representation  of  comedias  and 
autos.  Francis  van  Aerssen.  The  Comtesse  d'AuInoy.  The 
behavior  of  audiences.  Scenes  in  the  theaters.  Spanish  players 
abroad.     Conclusion. 

Appendix  A 345 

Appendix  B 357 

Appendix  C 360 

Addenda 381 

Index 385 


TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 
MY  MOTHER 

MAY  19,    1835— JUNE  5,    1899 


Death  is  the  end  of  life ;  ah,  why 
Should  life  all  labour  be  ? 
Let  us  alone.      Time  driveth  onward  fait. 
And  in  a  little  while  our  lips  are  dumb. 
Let  us  alone.     What  is  it  that  will  last? 
All  things  are  taken  from  us,  and  become 
Portions  and  parcels  of  the  dreadful  Past. 

Te-ii^:yson.. 


INTRODUCTION 

It  has  been  said  that  the  dramatic  literature  of  Spain  in 
the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  exceeded  that  of  all 
other  European  nations  combined,  and  this  is,  perhaps,  no 
exaggeration.  Lope  de  Vega,  the  great  founder  of  the 
national  drama,  who  heads  the  list  with  about  fifteen  hun- 
dred plays,  would  alone  suffice  for  an  entire  nation.  He 
is  followed  by  Tirso  de  Molina  and  Luis  Velez  de  Gue- 
vara, with  about  four  hundred  plays  each,  and  by  other 
playwrights  whose  productivity  is  almost  as  remarkable. 
Of  the  vast  dramatic  output  of  this  period  it  has  been 
estimated  that  fully  one  half  is  lost  beyond  recovery.  Of 
Lope  de  Vega's  repertory  about  two  thirds  has  perished: 
of  Tirso  de  Molina's  and  Velez  de  Guevara's  about  four 
fifths  has  disappeared,  and  of  all  the  great  dramatists  of 
the  Golden  Age  perhaps  Calderon  is  the  only  one  whose 
literary  baggage  has  descended  to  us  almost  in  its  entirety.^ 
Theatrical  representations  became  exceedingly  popular 
in  Spain  in  the  last  decades  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
with  the  establishment  of  the  first  permanent  theaters  in 
Madrid— the  Corral  de  la  Cruz  in  1579  and  the  Corral 
del  Principe  in  1582 — the  passion  for  the  theater  in- 
creased, and  it  was  not  long  before  all  the  larger  cities 
possessed  fixed  corrales  or  theaters,  and  few  towns  were 
so  small  that  they  were  not  occasionally  visited  by  strolling 
players.     In  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  stage,  however, 

*  Concerning  the  drama  in  England,  W.  W.  Greg  (Hensloive  's  Diary, 
Vol.  ir,  London,  1908,  p.  146)  says:  "We  may,  I  think,  conclude  with 
some  confidence  that  the  total  output  of  the  Elizabethan  Age  was  between 
2000  and30oo_£iilays]  and  probably  not  very  far  removed  from  the  mean. 
This  is,'"orcourse,  exclusive  of  masques."  He  gives  about  650  as  the 
^  total  number  of  plays  extant  from  Elizabeth's  accession  to  "the  outbreafc'bf 
the  civil  war  (1558-1642). 


xil  INTRODUCTION 

Madrid  was  always  paramount.  Upon  this  point  the  evi- 
dence is  overwhelming.  The  importance  of  Valencia  as  a 
theatrical  center  has  been  much  exaggerated,  and  while 
a  corral  may  have  existed  in  that  city  as  early  as  1566, 
there  is  no  positive  record  of  one  till  1582  or  1583.  As 
the  dramatists  of  the  so-called  Valencian  school  were  all 
followers  of  Lope  de  Vega  ( its  activity  can  be  dated  back 
no  farther  than  Lope's  residence  in  that  city  in  1588), 
so,  too,  the  Valencian  stage  was  at  all  times  ruled  by  that 
of  Madrid.  In  the  capital  all  the  large  companies  of 
players  were  organized;  here  all  the  celebrated  managers 
{autores  de  comedias)  and  actors  lived,  and  from  this 
source  all  the  cities  of  Spain,  as  well  as  the  capital  of 
Portugal,  drew  for  their  theatrical  representations. 

After  Madrid,  the  most  flourishing  theatrical  center,  on 
account  of  its  wealth  and  commercial  importance,  was  un- 
doubtedly Seville,  and  hence,  in  the  following  account  of 
the  Spanish  stage,  I  have  confined  myself  almost  exclu- 
sively to  these  two  cities,  not  only  because  of  their  prime 
importance,  but  also  for  the  no  less  potent  reason  that  here 
the  sources  flow  much  more  freely  than  elsewhere. 

As  regards  the  city  of  Valencia  it  may  not  be  out  of 
place  to  give  here  such  information  as  is  furnished  by  the 
rare  little  book.  El  Teatro  de  Valencia  desde  su  Origen 
hasta  nuestros  Dias,  por  D.  Luis  Lamarca,  Valencia,  1840. 
Concerning  theatrical  representations  in  that  city  Sr.  La- 
marca says  that  "to  Valencia  belongs  the  indisputable  glory 
of  having  been  the  first  city  in  Spain  in  which  dramas  were 
represented  in  the  vulgar  tongue,"  and  mentions  that  in 
April,  1394,  there  was  performed  in  the  Palacio  del  Real 
a  tragedy  entitled  L'hom  enamorat  y  la  fembra  satisfeta, 
written  by  Mosen  Domingo  Masco,  counselor  of  the 
JCing,  Don  Juan  I.^ 

A  few  years  afterward,  in  141 2,  on  the  occasion  of  the 

'  See  also  Wolf,  Studien  ztir  Geschichte  der  spanischen  und  portugie- 
sischen  Nationalliteratur,  Berlin,  1859,  p.  584. 


INTRODUCTION  xlii 

festivities  celebrated  by  the  city  in  honor  of  the  visit  of 
the  King,  Don  Fernando,  among  other  things  four  en- 
tramesos  nuevos  were  enacted.  Lamarca  says  that  these 
were  probably  carros  triunfales,  which  are  now  known  by 
the  name  of  rocas;  and  upon  these  carros  were  represented 
pasos  or  mysteries,  for  in  the  deliber acton  of  March  7, 
141 5,  it  was  decreed  to  pay  to  "Mosen  Juan  Sist,  pres- 
bitero,  per  trobar  e  ordenar  les  cobles  e  cantilenes  ques 
cantaren  en  los  entramesos  de  la  festividad  de  la  entrada 
del  Sor.  Rey,  Reyna  e  Primogenit,"  thirty  florins,  "e  igual 
suma  a  Juan  Perez  de  Pastrana,  per  haber  de  arreglar  e 
donar  el  so  a  les  dites  cantilenes  e  haber  fadrins  que  les 
cantasen  e  ferlos  ornar"  (p.  10).  This,  the  author  says, 
is  proof  of  the  Valencian  origin  of  th^  term  entremes.  As 
early  as  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  the  city  had 
pz'id  jtiglares  {juglares  asalariados)  to  represent  the  public 
festivals,  as  Is  shown  by  a  deliber acion  of  August  28,  1487, 
when  the  city  appointed  "Juan  Alfonso  para  una  plaza  de 
juglar  de  la  cludad,  que  se  hallaba  vacante  por  muerte  de 
Martin  Alfonso;  expresando,  que  se  le  concedia  con  los 
emolumentos  y  trajes  perteneclentes  a  dicho  oficio" 
{ibid.),  and  he  continues:  "Los  misterios  en  lengua  lemo- 
slna  que  se  representan  todavia  por  las  calles  en  la  vispera 
y  dia  del  Corpus  y  en  especial  el  de  Adam  y  Eva,  que 
antes  de  sallr  de  la  procession  se  ejecuta  sobre  el  carro  6 
roca  de  la  Santislma  Trinidad,  bajo  los  balcones  de  la  casa 
de  ayuntamiento,  son  una  memoria  de  aquellas  primltlvas 
representaclones." 

As  to  the  playhouses  of  Valencia,  Sr.  Lamarca  calls  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  Jovellanos  was  in  error  in  stating 
that  in  1526  the  Hospital  of  Valencia  possessed  a  theater 
in  that  city,  and  states  that  many  years  passed  before  the 
Hospital  had  any  Interest  In  the  casa  de  Comedias.  The 
evidence  for  an  early  theater  In  Valencia  he  finds  in  the 
circumstance  that  In  1566  the  street  now  called  calle  de  la 
Tertulia  was  called  the  carrer  de  les  Comedies.    The  fact 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

is,  however,  that  the  Hospital,  in  1582,  finding  itself  in 
straits  for  funds,  the  Marquis  of  Aytona,  then  Viceroy 
of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  decreed  on  September  15  of 
that  year  that  the  companies  of  players  which  came  from 
various  parts  to  Valencia  could  only  represent  in  the  place 
appointed  by  the  Hospital.  This  concession  was  con- 
firmed by  the  Cortes  of  Monzon  in  1585. 

From  a  deliheracion  of  November  6,  1584,  it  appears 
that,  for  a  short  time  prior  to  this  date,  a  theater  had  been 
established  in  a  house  of  Ana  Campo,  "situada  cerca  dels 
Santets,"  in  which  Alonso  de  Cisneros  had  represented 
for  three  months  (p.  18). 

These,  however,  were  only  provisional  theaters,  and  on 
May  4,  1584,  the  permanent  theater  in  the  Vall-cubert 
was  finished.  This,  Sr.  Lamarca  declares,  was  in  the  Plaza 
de  la  Olivera,  now  called  the  Plaza  de  las  Comedias, 
for  a  deliheracion  of  November  6,  1584,  shows  that 
N.  Velazquez  represented  "farsas  en  la  casa  que  te 
lo  dit  spital  pera  dit  efecte  a  la  Olivera."  At  this  time  the 
entrance  fee  was  4  dineros,  and  a  silla  cost  seven.  This 
famous  Casa  de  la  Olivera  existed  for  thirty-four  years, 
until  1 61 8,  when  it  was  torn  down  and  rebuilt.  While 
rebuilding  comedias  were  again  represented  in  the  house 
called  dels  Santets,  over  against  what  is  to-day  the  church 
of  St.  Thomas,  where  performances  had  formerly  taken 
place.  The  Teatro  de  la  Olivera  was  opened  on  Novem- 
ber 3,  1619,  when  the  first  representation  took  place  in  the 
new  structure,  and  here  they  were  continued  until  17 15, 
when  it  was  rebuilt  anew. 

In  1622  the  dramatist  Jacinto  Maluenda  was  alcaide  of 
this  casa  de  comedias,  and  moved  to  the  house  in  the 
theater  called  del  Autor,  "which  he  was  to  occupy  and  to 
exercise  the  duties  of  his  office,  receiving  all  the  returns 
and  profits  from  the  sale  of  waters,  sweets,  fruits,"  etc., 
"del  modo  y  manera  que  fins  huy  ho  han  tengut  tots  sos 
antepasats."  {Ibid.,  p.  63.)     In  1650  representations  were 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

forbidden  by  royal  decree.  In  June,  1662,  we  find  Jose 
Carrillo  and  his  company  representing  forty  comedias  in 
Valencia.  Performances  continued  to  take  place  in  the 
Teatro  de  la  Olivera  until  it  was  demolished  in  1750,  at 
the  instance  of  the  archbishop,  D.  Andres  Mayoral. 

With  this  brief  notice  of  the  theater  at  Valencia  we  now 
turn  our  attention  to  the  stage  of  Madrid,  first  casting  a 
retrospective  glance  over  the  early  religious  representa- 
tions in  the  peninsula. 


THE  SPANISH  STAGE 


CHAPTER  I 

Early  religious  representations.  The  festival  of  Corpus  Christi. 
The  secular  drama.  Lope  de  Rueda.  Torres  Naharro.  Early 
secular  representations.  • 

So  far  as  the  representation  of  secular  dramas  in  Spain  is 
concerned,  we  need  go  back  no  further  than  Lope  de  Rueda, 
who  is,  in  fact,  the  first  professional  actor-manager  whose 
name  has  been  preserved  in  the  theatrical  annals  of  Spain. 
To  him  and  to  Torres  Naharro,  Lope  de  Vega,  the  great 
creator  of  the  Spanish  national  drama,  has  ascribed  the 
beginnings  of  the  comedia.^  On  the  other  hand,  any  dis- 
cussion of  the  representations  of  the  religious  drama  in 
the  peninsula  must  necessarily  revert  to  a  much  more  re- 
mote period. 

The  earliest  definite  notices  of  popular  representations 
in  Spain,  it  may  be  observed  here,  all  concern  the  celebra- 

*In  his  Loa  de  la  Comedia,  Agustin  de  Rojas  tells  us  that  the  comedia 
had  its  beginning  in  the  city  of  Qranada,  at  the  time  when  the  Catholic 
kings  expelled  the  Moriscos  from  Spain  (1492),  and  says  that  the  comedia 
was  begun  by  Juan  de  la  Enzina,  "who  was  the  first  and  of  whom  we  have 
three  eclogues"  (p.  120).  And,  again,  he  says  that  "the  use  of  the  comedia 
began  to  be  discovered"  when  Columbus  discovered  the  New  World  (p. 
121).  He  states  that  Enzina  himself  represented  them  to  "the  Almirante  y 
Duquessa  de  Castilla  y  de  Infantado."  But  as  Canete  remarks:  "Encina 
estuvo  muy  lejos  de  ser  representante,  y  mucho  menos  autor.de  Companias 
comicas  en  el  sentido  que  posteriormente  ha  dado  a  este  frase  el  tecnicismo 
teatral.  Poetas  coetaneos  de  nuestro  salmantino  [Encina]  como  Pedro  de 
Vega,  vendian  ya  sus  coloquios  pastoriles,  que  entonces  se  practicaban 
mucho,  a  los  representantes  que  andaban  por  el  reino,  que  fueron  los  pri' 


I) 


4  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

tion  of  the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi,  which  was  first  insti- 
tuted by  Urban  IV.  in  1264.^  Most  of  our  information 
concerning  these  festivals  has  been  obtained  from  the 
Archives  of  the  larger  Spanish  cities,  and  that  these 
notices  have  been  recorded  is  due  to  the  fact  that  such 
festal  representations  were  given  at  the  command  and  ex- 
pense of  the  corporations  of  the  various  municipalities. 
In  this  respect  the  Spanish  Archives  seem  to  be  unusually 
rich,  and  they  throw  much  light  on  the  character  of  these 
early  representations  and  on  the  manner  in  which  they 
were  produced.  It  may  not  be  without  interest,  therefore, 
to  cast  a  glance,  though  it  be  a  very  hasty  one,  at  these 
early  religions  representations,  i.e.,  before  the  middle  of 
the  sixteenth  century .^ 

According  to  Sanchez-Arjona  the  Archives  of  Barcelona 
contain  accounts  of  the  celebrations  of  the  festival  of 
Corpus  Christi  covering  the  first  two  thirds  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  i.e.,  down  to  1462.  This  festival  was  first  intro- 
!  duced  into  Spain  at  Gerona  by  Berenger  de  Palaciolo,  who 
,  died  in  i'^i4^  It  was  celebrated  with  great  solemnity  in 
Seville  durmg  the  fifteenth  century,  the  cathedral  chapter 

meros  que  salieron  d  recitar  publicamente.  Asi  lo  expresa  Juan  Lopez 
Osorio,  en  una  obra  historica  muy  anterior  a  las  de  Rojas  y  Mendez,  y  su 
dict&men  es  mas  digno  de  credito  en  este  punto."  [Teatro  completo  de 
Juan  del  Encina,  Edition  de  la  Real  Academia  Espaiiola,  ed.  by  Manuel 
Canete,  Madrid,  1893,  p.  xxxviii.)  Of  these  actors,  however,  we  have  no 
knowledge. 

^That  representations— secular  as  well  as  religious— must  have  taken 
place  in  Spain  at  a  period  considerably  antedating  those  mentioned  in  the 
text,  is  evinced  by  the  Siete  Partidas  of  Alfonso  X.,  which  were  probably 
written  between  1252  and  1257.  Partida  I,  Tit.  VI,  Ley  34,  is  a  very  im- 
portant document  for  the  history  of  the  early  Spanish  ~draraa,  to  which 
attention  -has  frequently  been  called.  From  it  Schack  has  drawn  the 
following  conclusions:  (i)  That  in  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century 
religious  as  well  as  secular  representations  were  well  known  in 
Spain;    (2)  that  they  took  place   as  well   within   as  without  the  church; 

(3)  that  they  were  represented  not  only  by  clerics,  but  also  by  laymen; 

(4)  that  acting  was  followed  as  a  profession  {Eriuerbsziveig)  ;  (5)  that 
the  plays  were  represented  not  only  in  pantomime,  but  were  also  spoken. 
{Geschlchte  der  dramatischen  Literatur  und  Kunst  in  Spanien,  Frankfurt 
am  Main,  1854,  Vol.  \,  p.  114.) 

*  For  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  religious  drama  and  of  the  autos 


THE  FESTIVAL  OF  CORPUS  CHRISTI       5 

defraying  the  expenses  of  the  representations^  which  took 
place  on  what  was  called  la  roca/which  the  cathedral  books 

{libros  de  fabrica)  describe  as  a  kind  of  platform  {andas) 
carried  by  twelve  men  and  on  which  were  those  persons 
wTio  represented  Maria,  Jesus,  Saints  Dominick  and  Fran- 
cis, and  the  four  evangelists.  "There  were,  besides,_six 
angel^.and  eight  prophets,  who  were  playing  (tanendo)  ; 
we  do  not  know  whether  they  were  upon  the  roca,  but 
rather  presume  that  they  went  on  foot  like  the  devils  and 
the  angels  who  came  forth  and  performed  a  sort  of  dance." 
As  early  as  1454,  or  a  hundred  years  before  Lope  de 
Rueda,  Sanchez-Arjona  gives  the  names  of  two  of  these 
performers,  Beatriz  and  Diego  Garcia,  who  were  paid 
twenty-five  maravedis  for  dancing  (que  than  rillendo).  It 
is  very  likely  that  the  persons  engaged  for  these  early 
representations  were  merely  mountebanks  and  strolling 
players ;  in  fact,  in  the  same  year  forty  maravedis  were  paid 
by  the  corporation  to  "Juan  Canario,  a  juglar,  and  his 
companion,  who  appeared  on  the  roca,  besides  ten  mara- 
vedis for  coming  to  this  city." 

In  Zaragoza,  in  1414,  on  the  car  or  float  for  the  repre- 
sentation which  Don  Enrique  de  Aragon  (generally,  but 
wrongly,  called  the  Marquis  of  Villena)  had  arranged  to 
celebrate  the  nuptials  of  the  King,  Don  Fernando  el  Ho- 
nesto,  there  was  represented  "a  great  castle  with  four 
towers  at  the  sides,  and  in  the  middle  a  higher  one,  with  a 
wheel  in  its  center  which  gave  motion  to  the  whole  device 

(armazon) ,  and  showed  successively  the  various  alle- 
gorical personages  who  graced  it,"  ^     These  castles  seemed 

sacramentales,  see,  in  addition  to  the  first  volume  of  Schack,  Geschichte  der 
dramatischen  Literatur  und  Kunst  in  Spanien,  the  introduction  by  Eduardo 
Gonzalez  Pedroso  to  Vol.  $8  of  the  Biblioteca  de  Autores  Espanoles,  and 
Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales  del  Teatro  en  Sevilla,  Seville,  1898.  See  also 
Wolf,  Studien  zur  Geschichte  der  spanischen  und  portugiesischen  National- 
literatur,  Berlin,  1859,  pp.  556  ff. 

^  For  an  account  of  this  piece  (written  in  Limousin,  not  in  Castilian), 
which  is  ascribed  to  the  Marquis  of  Villena,  see  Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  2, 
and  Wolf,  Studien,  p.  583  and  note. 


6  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

to  have  figured  largely  in  these  representations,  for  in 
1454  "one  Pedro  Gonzalez,  the  friend  who  makes  castles," 
was  paid  for  erecting  one  on  the  roca,  which  must  have 
been  a  similar  device  to  the  one  used  by  the  Marquis  of 
Villena.  Despite  the  exalted  purpose  with  which  these  fes- 
tivals were  celebrated,  the  earthly  needs  of  the  performers 
were  not  overlooked,  as  is  evinced  by  an  entry  in  the  books 
of  the  cathedral  of  Seville,  in  which  the  expenses  of  the 
festival  were  kept.  Here  we  find,  among  other  items,  one 
"for  wine  for  the  angels  and  prophets."  ( Sanchez- Arjona, 
p.  4.)  Again,  in  1462,  in  addition  to  the  item  "gloves  for 
Mary,"  nine  maravedis  were  paid  "for  another  pair  of 
gloves,  together  with  a  wound  for  St.  Francis."  In  1497, 
besides  an  increased  number  of  personages  on  the  roca, 
other  innovations  were  made.  Two  reals  were  paid  to 
each  of  six  trumpeters  and  to  a  drummer  and  a  tambourine- 
player.  "A  gilded  sun  was  provided  at  a  cost  of  ten  reals, 
besides  twelve  diadems  for  the  apostles;  keys  for  St.  Peter, 
which  cost  two  reals ;  eighteen  little  gilded  lamps  and  two 
hundred  and  thirty  roses  gilded  and  plated  with  leaves  of 
tin  {lata)  to  adorn  the  sky  in  which  Is  God  the  Father, 
the  gilding  at  two  maravedis  and  for  the  plating  one 
maravedi."  In  that  year  "Mary  wore  a  gilded  star,  God 
the  Father  a  tiara,  Jefeus  Christ  a  diadem,  and  St.  Domi- 
nick  a  lily."  It  is  very  likely,  as  Sanchez- Arjona  remarks, 
that  during  the  fifteenth  century  these  festivals  were  chiefly 
in  charge  of  the  various  guilds,  and  he  adds  that,  to  judge 
by  the  titles  of  these  aiitos  and  the  notices  of  them  which 
have  been  preserved,  these  representations  with  which  the 
festival  of  Corpus  Chrlsti  was  then  celebrated  "had  no 
direct  relation  to  the  sublime  mystery  which  is  commemo- 
rated on  that  solemn  day,  and  down  to  the  middle  of 
the  sixteenth  century  we  find  no  auto  which  unites  all  the 
distinctive  characteristics  of  the  autos  sacramentales."  He 
refers  here  to  the  Farsa  llamada  Danza  de  la  Muerte, 
written  by  Pedraza,  a  native  of  Segovia,  and  cloth-shearer 


AVTOS  REPRESENTED  BY  GUILDS         7 

(tundidor)  by  trade,  and  first  printed  in  155 1.*  It  was 
doubtless  represented  in  that  city  by  the  guild  of  tundi- 
dores,  since  at  that  time  the  cars  for  representation  were 
in  charge  of  the  guilds  and  officers  of  the  city,  who  took 
part  in  the  processions,  preceded  by  a  standard,  bearing  the 
ensigns  of  the  respective  guilds.  This  was  also  the  case 
in  Seville,  where,  besides  the  care  of  the  cars,  the  well- 
cleaners  had  charge  of  the  decoration  of  the  ''tarasca,"  the 
ganapanes  looked  after  the  "giants,"  and  an  enormous  St. 
Christopher  was  furnished  by  the  glovers.  {Ibid.,  p.  8.) 
In  Seville  these  autos  were  represented  at  Corpus  by  the 
various  guilds  and  at  their  expense  until  1554,  when  they 
were  undertaken  by  the  city,  which  also  assumed  all  the 
charges    of    the    rqpresentations.^     At    this    time,    says 

*The  earliest  auto  bearing  a  definite  date,  that  has  survived,  is  Gil  Vi- 
cente's Auto  de  San  Martinho,  written  and  represented  in  1504;  "la  mas 
antigua,  entre  quantas  poseen  fecha  autentica,  de  dramas  castellanos, 
hechos  para  solemnizar  la  fiesta  del  Sanct.  Sacramento."  (Gonzalez 
Pedroso,  in  Bibl.  de  Autores  Espanoles,  Vol.  58,  p.  xvii.)  That  there  is, 
however,  much  uncertainty  concerning  the  chronology  of  Vicente's  works, 
has  been  shown  by  Stiefel,  who  makes  it  apparent  that  the  Auto  da  Fama, 
for  instance,  was  written  after  1519  and  perhaps  not  before  1525,  though 
the  date  15 10  is  assigned  to  it.  {Archiv  fiir  das  Siudium  der  neueren 
Sprachen  (1907),  p.  192.)  It  should  be  added  that,  while  the  Auto  de  San 
Martinho  was  represented  at  Corpus  Christi,  it  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
glorification  of  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation ;  and  is  not,  therefore,  an 
auto  sacramental.  Fitzmaurice-Kelly  says:  "Hernan  Lopez  de  Yanguas 
est  peut-etre  le  premier  qui  ait  ecrit  un  veritable  auto  dans  sa  Farsa  sacra- 
mental en  coplas  (1520)."  {Litterature  espagnole,  Paris,  1904,  p.  174.) 
The  Farsa  of  Pedraza  is  republished  by  Pedroso,  loc.  cit.,  p.  41.  On 
Lopez  de  Yanguas,  see  Canete,  Teatro  espanol  del  Siglo  XVI,  Madrid, 
1885,  pp.  61  ff. 

*The  manuscript  collection  of  Autos,  Farsas,  etc.,  of  the  Biblioteca  Na- 
cional,  to  which  reference  is  made  by  writers  upon  this  subject,  has  been 
published  by  Rouanet,  under  the  title  Coleccion  de  Autos,  Farsas  y  Collo- 
quios  del  Siglo  XVI,  Madrid,  1901,  in  four  volumes.  It  consists  of  ninety-six 
pieces.  The  editor  says:  "Les  diverses  compositions  du  recueil  pourraient  se 
diviser  en  trois  classes:  i**  sujets  empruntes  a  la  Bible  (Ancien  et  Nouveau 
Testament)  ;  z^  sujets  pris  dans  la  legende  ou  la  vie  des  saints.  Les  uns  et  les 
autres  portent  le  nom  d'autos.  30  Sujets  allegoriques,  designes  sous  le  nom 
de  farsas.  II  est  a  noter  ici  que,'  vers  la  fin  du  XVI*  ou  le  commencement 
du  XVII*  siecle,  le  mot  a«/o  n'etait  I'equivalent  ni  d'auto  sacramental,  ni 
d^auto  al  nacimiento,  et  ne  s'appliquait  pas  exclusivement  aux  representa- 
tions en  I'honneur  de  I'Eucharistie  ou  de  la  Nativite,  mais  a  toute  ceuvre 
dramatique  en  un  act.    Si  on  voulait  chercher  dans  le  Codice  de  Madrid  le 


8  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

y  Sanchez-Arjona,  it  was  the  custom  to  place  the  Holy  Sac- 
rament in  the  middle  of  the  principal  chapel  in  the  church, 
and  the  town  council  and  cathedral  chapter  having  occu- 
pied the  stage  or  platform  (tablado),  placed  between  the 
two  choirs,  the  representation  of  the  auto  took,  place,  after 
which  divine  service  was  held.  The  mass  and  sermon  be- 
ing concluded,  the  dances  were  presented  in  the  same  place 
in  which  t:he  auto  had  been  given,  and  there  they  remained 
dancing  before  the  Holy  Sacrament  until  evening,  when 
the  procession,  of  which  they  formed  a  part,  emerged  from 
the  church.  {Ibid.,  p.  9.)  Meanwhile  the  deputies  ap- 
pointed by  the  city  to  take  charge  of  the  festival  assigned 
the  places  where  the  representations  were  to  take  place, 
and  once  designated,  fixed  the  arms  of  the  city  over 
them,  so  that,  the  representations  within  the  cathedral  and 
before  the  chapters  being  concluded,  the  players  might  go 
in  their  "cars"  to  perform  the  autos  in  all  the  places  indi- 

prototype  des  autos  sacramentales  tels  qu'on  les  congut  plus  tard,  c'est 
parmi  les  farsas  qu'on  le  trouverait.  Les  autos,  au  contraire,  y  apparais- 
sent  comme  une  forme  encore  rudimentaire  des  comedias  di'vinas."  {Ibid., 
p.  X.)  Forty  years  before,  Wolf,  in  speaking  of  this  same  collection,  had 
said  that  from  their  nature  these  pieces  must  have  been  represented  outside 
the  church,  and  that  in  the  farsas  sacramentales  the  special,  allegor- 
ical form  of  the  auto  sacramental  is  already  found  developed,  while  the 
pieces  which  in  this  collection  are  called  autos  mostly  treat  of  the  lives  of 
heroes  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  of  saints,  etc.,  and  may  be  con- 
sidered the  forerunners  of  the  so-called  comedias  diinnas.  "More- 
ov.;r,"  he  says,  "it  may  be  confidently  asserted  that  the  ancient  religious 
drama  in  Spain  was  divided,  as  in  France  and  England,  into  two  prin- 
cipal classes:  historical  representations  of  sacred  history  (Mysteries  or 
Miracle-plays)  and  moral-allegorical  pieces  (Moralities).  From  the 
former  the  comedias  divinas  were  afterward  developed,  and  from  the  latter 
the  autos  (in  the  signification  which  was  afterward  exclusively  con- 
fined to  this  name)."  (Studien  zur  Geschichte  der  spanischen  und 
portugiesischen  Nationalliteratur,  Berlin,  1859,  p.  602,  quoting  Schack, 
Vol.  I,  p.  243.)  A  piece  similar  to  those  contained  in  the  collection 
edited  by  Rouanet,  and  which,  moreover,  bears  a  definite  date,  was 
written  by  Sebastian  de  Horozco  of  Toledo,  and  is  printed  in  his 
Cancionero,  Seville,  1874,  p.  148.  It  is  entitled  "Representacion  de  la 
Parabola  de  Sant  Mateo  a  los  veinte  Capitulos  de  su  sagrado  Evangelic; 
la  qual  se  hizo  y  represento  en  Toledo  en  la  Fiesta  del  Sanctissimo  Sacra- 
mento por  la  Santa  Iglesia.  Ano  de  1548  anos."  It  also  begins  with  an 
"Argumento"  or  prefacio,  as  the  author  calls  it. 


LOPE  DE  RUEDA  9 

cated  by  the  arms  oiihe  city.  (Ibid.)  So  the  procession 
moved  from  street  to  street  and  received  the  name,  in 
popular  phrase,  of  the  "Festival  of  the  Cars" — La  Fiesta 
de  los  Carros.^  Toward  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury the  auto  received  a  new  and  powerful  impulse 
through  Lope  de  Vega,  seconded  by  other  writers;  an 
impulse  that  was  epoch-making  in  the  annals  of  this 
species  of  composition,  which  developed  in  regularity 
and  brilliancy,  at  the  cost,  perhaps,  as  Sr.  Sanchez- 
Arjona  says,  of  its  former  tenderness  and  simplicity, 
and  putting  an  end  to  the  autos  viejos,  works  of  tran- 
sition between  the  farces  of  the  fifteenth  and  early 
sixteenth  centuries  and  the  eucharistic  representations  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  in  which  they  constituted  one  of 
the  richest  and  most  varied  manifestations  of  the  dramatic 
muse.^ 

Throughout  the  seventeenth  century  the  autos  sacra- 
mentales  were  represented  publicly  in  the  streets  of  Spain,' 
the  performances  moving  from  place  to  place,  as  directed 
by  the  authorities  of  the  cities,  under  whose  auspices  and 
at  whose  expense  they  were  given.  And  it  is  in  Benavente, 
in  1554,  that  we  first  hear  of  Lope  de  Rueda,  when  he 
represented  an  auto  in  that  city.  Lope  de  Rueda  is  the 
earliest  autor  de  comedias  (head  of  a  company  of  players) 
in  Spain  of  whom  we  have  any  knowledge.  His  is  a 
famous  name  in  the  annals  of  the  Spanish  theater,  of  which 
he  was  one  of  the  founders.  Indeed,  his  great  successor, 
Lope  de  Vega,  frequently  alludes  to  his  illustrious  name- 
sake as  the  first  to  bring  the  comedia,  as  it  was  afterward 
known,  upon  the  public  stage.  To  Lope  de  Rueda  the 
name  autor  was  rightly  applied;  he  was  an  author  as 
well  as  actor  and  wrote  the  farces  and  comedies  which 
he  and  his  little  company  performed  in  the  public  squares. 

^Ticknor,  History  of  Spanish  Literature,  Boston,  1888,  Vol.  II,  pp.  291  ff. 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  8. 

'  For  the  representation  of  autos  in  the  theaters,  see  below,  Chapter  XIV. 


lo  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Born  in  Seville,  probably  in  the  second  decade  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  he  at  first  followed  the  trade  of  a  gold- 
beater. The  earliest  documentary  notice  concerning  him 
is  of  the  year  1554,  when,  as  just  stated,  he  represented 
an  auto  at  Benevente  in  honor  of  Philip  the  Second,  on 
his  passage  through  that  town  on  his  way  to  England.* 
I  On  August  15,  1558,  we  find  him  in  Segovia  performing 
una  gustosa  comedia  at  the  dedication  of  the  new  cathe- 
dral of  that  city .2  In  1559  his  company  represented 
two  autos  at  Seville,  El  Hijo  prodigo  and  Navalcar- 
melo,^  and  the  instrument  dated  April  29,  1559,  is  still 
preserved  in  the  Archives  of  Seville,  in  which  Juan  de 
Coronado,  the  mayordomo  of  the  rents  and  properties  of 
the  city,  is  commanded  to  pay  to  Lope  de  Rueda,  "residing 
in  this  city,  forty  ducats,  on  account  of  seventy  ducats,* 
which  he  is  to  receive  for  two  representations,  to  be  given 
on  two  cars  (carros),  with  certain  figures,  on  Corpus 
Christi ;  the  one  Navalcarmelo,  the  other  El  Hijo  prodigo, 
with  all  the  costumes  of  silk  and  other  things  that  may  be 
necessary,"  etc.    Attached  is  the  receipt  of  Lope  de  Rueda, 

^  The  best  account  of  Lope  de  Rueda  and  his  works  is  to  be  found  in 
Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Lope  de  Rueda  y  el  Teatro  Espanol  de  su  Tiempo, 
Madrid,  1901,  and  in  the  same  writer's  introduction  to  the  Obras  de  Lope 
de  Rueda,  published  by  the  Spanish  Academy,  Madrid,  1908,  2  vols.  See 
also  Cortes,  Un  Pleito  de  Lope  de  Rueda,  Madrid,  1903,  and  on  the  sources 
of  Rueda's  plays,  the  excellent  article  of  Professor  Arthur  L.  Stiefcl,  Lope 
de  Rueda  und  das  Italienische  Lustspiel,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  Romanische 
Philologie,  Vol.  XV. 

^  "A  la  tarde,  celebradas  solenes  visperas  en  un  teatro  que  estava 
entre  los  coros.  .  .  .  Luego  la  compania  de  Lope  de  Rueda,  famoso  come- 
diante  de  aquella  edad,  represento  una  gustosa  comedia."  (Diego  de 
Colmenares,  Historia  de  Segovia,  Madrid,  1640,  Cap.  XLI,  p.  516.) 

*This  auto  is  still  extant  and  has  been  published  by  Rouanet  in  the 
Coleccion  de  Autos,  Farsas  y  Coloquios  del  Sigh  XVI,  Vol.  II,  Madrid- 
Barcelona,  1901.  In  the  introduction  to  Vol.  I  (p.  xii),  M.  Rouanet  says: 
"No.  LIX,  VAuto  de  Naval  y  Abigail  est  precisement  celui  que  Lope  de 
Rueda  composa  en  1559  pour  la  Fete-Dieu  de  Seville." 

*  For  some  years  after  this  seventy  ducats  seems  to  have  been  the  usual 
price  for  an  auto.  In  May,  1580,  seventy  ducats  each  were  paid  for  the 
autos  of  that  year  by  the  chapter  of  Toledo,  Alonso  Rodriguez  receiving 
210  ducats  for  three  autos  and  Melchor  de  Herrera  140  ducats  for  two 
autos.     (Perez  Pastor,  Bulletin  Hispanique  (1906),  p.  78.) 


MARIANA  AND  THE  DUKE  ii 


rf  ■ 


dated  May  9,  1559,  acknowledging  the  payment  of  forty       k 
ducats,  and  signed  by  his  own  hand^^  '^ 

The  court  having  moved  from  Valladolid  to  Madrid, 
we  find  Lope  de  Rueda  in  the  latter  city  on  September  24, 
1 56 1,  married  to  a  Valencian  woman.  After  a  short  stay 
in  Madrid,  in  which  his  company  seems  to  have  been  very 
unfortunate— for  he  was  obliged  to  leave  part  of  his  theat- 
rical wardrobe  in  pawn  for  a  debt — he  left  for  Valencia, 
whence  he  returned  to  Seville,  where,  on  July  18,  1564, 
Juana  Luisa,  "daughter  of  Lope  de  Rueda  and  his  wife 
Rafaela  Anxela,"  was  baptized. ^ 

A  very  curious  document,^  which  throws  an  interesting 
light  upon  the  early  theatrical  career  of  Lope  de  Rueda,  is 
a  lawsuit  brought  by  "Lope  de  Rueda  and  Mariana  de 
Rueda,  his  wife,"  on  July  6,  1554,  in  Valladolid,  against 
Juan  de  la  Cerda,  the  heir  and  successor  of  Don  Gaston  de 
la  Cerda,  Duke  of  Medinaceli,  for  services  rendered  by 
the  wife  to  the  latter.  It  appears  that  about  the  year 
1546,  two  women,  who  earned  their  living  by  singing  and 
dancing,  arrived  from  Aragon  in  the  town  of  Cogolludo, 
where  Don  Gaston  was  residing.  The  Duke  was  so  pleased 
with  one  of  these  singers  that  he  admitted  her  to  his  ser- 
vice. She  was  called  Mariana,  and  we  are  told  that  she 
fulfilled  with  extreme  solicitude  her  duty  of  amusing  the 
Duke.  She  remained  in  his  service  six  years,  "dedicating 
herself  exclusively  to  furnishing  him  with  recreation,  sing- 
ing and  dancing  in  his  presence  whenever  it  suited  his 
caprice,  and  giving  him  always  grande  placer  e  contenta- 
miento."  Mariana  seems  to  have  been  an  excellent  singer 
and  dancer,  and,  according  to  the  testimony  of  one  of  the 
witnesses,  "es  en  extremo  unica  e  sola  en  lo  que  hace."  At 
all  events,  she  greatly  pleased  the  old  Duke,  "who  ad- 
mitted her  to  his  chamber,  le  daba  de  comer  en  sii  propio 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  ii. 
*Cotarelo,  Lope  de  Rueda,  p.  38,  note. 

*  See  Cortes,  Un  Pleito  de  Lope  de  Rueda,  Madrid,  1903. 


12  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

plato,  and  lavished  gold  and  silver  upon  her,  and  in  his 
solicitude  not  to  be  separated  from  her,  he  used  to  take 
her  with  him  on  his  hunting  parties."  In  order  the  better 
to  accompany  the  Duke,  "now  on  foot  and  now  on  horse," 
Mariana  had  her  locks  shorn  and  dressed  in  male  attire. 
While  her  position,  in  the  circumstances,  might  be  re- 
garded as  rather  equivocal,  it  should  be  added  that  one  of 
the  witnesses  "affirmed  under  oath,  and  insisted  upon  it, 
that  Mariana  tried  to  please  the  Duke  and  to  serve  him 
in  all  that  she  could  como  muger  honrada."  It  appears  that 
the  old  Duke  died  owing  Mariana  considerable  money, 
and  sometime  after  her  marriage  to  Lope  de  Rueda  she 
determined  to  sue  for  the  amount  due  her.  The  testimony 
at  the  trial  shows  that  when  suit  was  brought  (1554)  she 
had  been  married  to  Lope  de  Rueda  for  about  two  years. 
As  Mariana  entered  the  Duke's  service  in  1546  and  re- 
mained six  years,  she  must  have  married  Lope  de  Rueda 
directly  after  she  left  the  Duke.  This  lawsuit  lasted  from 
July,  1554,  until  March,  1557,  during  which  time  Lope 
de  Rueda  was  living  with  his  wife,  Mariana,  in  Valladolid. 
.The  testimony  of  some  of  the  witnesses  in  this  case  af- 
fords a  glimpse  of  Lope  de  Rueda's  company  at  this  time. 
The  first  witness  was  Pedro  de  Montiel,  "a  silk-spinner 
(hilador  de  sieda),  being  in  this  court  [Valladolid]  and 
a  member  of  the  company  of  Lope  de  Rueda."  Another 
witness  was  Caspar  Diez,  musico,  who  testified  that 
"whenever  the  said  Lope  de  Rueda  represents  a  comedy, 
he  calls  him  and  pays  him  [the  witness]  well  for  playing 
the  biguela^  in  the  said  comedy,"  etc.  Francisco  de  la 
Vega,  musico  e  /a«^<ior  of  Valladolid,  and  Alonso  Centino, 
danzante,  also  testified,  the  latter  saying  that  he  was  not  in 
Rueda's  company  because  he  [the  witness]  was  married. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  Lope  de  Rueda  was  twice 
married,  first  in  1552  to  Mariana,  a  strolling  singer  and 
dancer,  and  sometime  in  1 563  or  earlier  to  Rafaela  Anxela. 
Two  years  before  this,  in  1561,  he  is  said  to  have  repre- 


TORRES  NAHARRO  13 

sented  the  autos  at  Corpus  in  Toledo,  and  on  October  4 
and  November  28,  1561,  he  received  one  hundred  reals 
each  for  two  comedias  acted  at  the  instance  of  the  Queen, 
Dona  Isabel  de  la  Paz.^  He  died  at  Cordoba  shortly 
after  March  21,  1565,  the  date  of  his  testament.^ 

To  Bartoleme  de  Torres  Naharro  and  Lope  de  Rueda 
belongs  the  singular  honor  of  having  been  the  "first  in- 
ventors" of  the  comedia  in  Spain ;  Torres  Naharro  was  the 
first  Spaniard  to  write  comedias  in  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  afterward  taken  up  and  brought  to  the  highest 
development  of  artistic  form  by  Lope  de  Vega.^  His 
comedias  are  in  verse,  while  Rueda's  are  in  prose.  Na- 
harro has  been  strangely  overlooked  by  those  early  Spanish 
writers  who  touch  upon  the  drama.  Juan  de  la  Cueva 
does  not  mention  him,  nor  does  Agustin  de  Rojas.  Cer- 
vantes notes  him  briefly  in  the  "Canto  de  Caliope"  in  his 
Galatea,  as  does  Lope  de  Vega  in  the  dedication  of  his 
comedia  Virtud,  Pobreza  y  Muger,  in  1624,  where  he 
says:  "In  Spain  the  rules  of  art  are  disregarded;  not 
through  ignorance — for  the  first  inventors  [of  the  comedia 
in  Spain],  Rueda  and  Naharro,  who  have  scarcely  been 
dead  eighty  years,  observed  them— but  through  following 

*  Cotarelo,  Lope  de  Rueda,  p.  37,  note. 

""Ibid.,  p.  39. 

^  The  most  distinguished  of  living  critics  of  the  Spanish  drama,  Sr. 
Menendez  y  Pelayo,  says  this  of  our  author:  "Bartolorre  de  Torres  Na- 
harro, inferior  a  otros  contempordneos  suyos  en  dotes  po^ticas,  habia  nacido 
hombre  de  teatro,  y  en  esta  parte  les  aventaja  a  todos.  Comparense  sus 
obras  con  cuanto  inmediatamente  las  precedio  en  nuestra  escena:  con  las 
eglogas,  farsas  y  representaciones  de  Juan  del  Enzina  (sin  excluir  las  ulti- 
mas y  mas  complicadas)  ;  con  las  de  Lucas  Fernandez,  Francisco  de  Ma- 
drid, Diego  de  Avila  y  Martin  de  Herrera;  y  aun  con  todo  lo  que  Gil 
Vicente  compuso  antes  de  la  Comedia  del  Viudo,  que  es  de  15 14,  acaso 
influida  ya  por  los  ensayos  de  nuestro  autor ;  y  nos  pareceri  que  entramos 
en  un  mundo  nuevo,  y  que  fue  un  paso  de  gigante  el  que  Torres  Naharro 
dio  en  el  camino  de  la  buena  comedia"  (p.  Ixxxviii).  Again:  "CompHco 
ingeniosamente  la  trama,  en  tres  por  lo  menos  de  sus  piezas;  atendio  per 
primera  vez  al  estudio  de  las  costumbres,  y  si  no  llego  a  la  comedia  de 
caracter,  fue  por  lo  menos  el  fundador  de  la  comedia  de  intriga" 
(p.  xciii).  (Introduction  to  the  Propaladia  of  Torres  Naharro,  Vol.  II, 
Madrid,  1900.) 


14  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

the  bad  style  introduced  by  those  who  succeeded  them." 
Juan  de  Timoneda,  as  Schack  has  observed,  is  the  earliest 
Spanish  writer  to  couple  the  names  of  Torres  Naharro  and 
Lope  de  Rueda  as  the  founders  of  the  Spanish  drama,  call- 
ing attention  to  the  fact  that  the  works  of  Torres  Naharro 
are  in  verse,  while  the  comedies  of  Lope  de  Rueda  are  in 
prose. ^ 

Lope  de  Rueda's  historic  importance  lies  in  his  in- 
vention of  the  paso — a  dramatic  interlude  turning  on 
some  simple  episode:  a  quarrel  between  Torubio  and 
his  wife  Agueda  concerning  the  price  of  olives  not  yet 
planted,  an  invitation  to  dinner  from  the  penniless  licen- 
tiate Xaquima,  etc.  Mr.  Fitzmaurice-Kelly,  in  his  brief  but 
admirable  summary  of  Rueda's  achievement,  says :  "Rueda 
had  clearly  read  the  Celestina  to  his  profit ;  and  his  prose, 
with  its  archaic  savor,  is  of  great  purity  and  power.  .  .  . 
Considerable  as  were  Rueda's  positive  qualities  of  gay 
wit  and  inventive  resource,  his  highest  merit  lies  in  this, 
that  he  laid  the  foundation  stone  of  the  actual  Spanish 
theater,  and  that  his  dramatic  system  became  a  capital 
factor  in  his  people's  intellectual  history."^  And  Sr. 
Menendez  y  Pelayo  says:  "The  positive  and  eminent  merit 
of  Lope  de  Rueda  is  not  in  his  dramatic  conception,  nearly 
always  foreign,  but  in  the  art  of  the  dialogue,  which  is  a 
treasure  of  popular  diction,  picturesque  and  seasoned  as 
well  in  his  pasos  and  coloquios  sueltos  as  in  those  which  can 
be  culled  from  his  comedias.  This  episodical  part  is  really 
the  very  essence  of  them.    This  is  what  Cervantes  admired 

^  The  works  of  Lope  de  Rueda,  which  Timoneda  began  to  publish  at 
Valencia  in  1567,  are  now  accessible  in  the  two  volumes  edited  by  the 
Marques  de  la  Fuensanta  del  Valle  in  the  Colecc'ton  de  Libros  EspanoUs 
raros  6  curiosos,  Madrid,  1895-96,  and  in  the  new  edition  of  the  Spanish 
Academy,  just  issued  in  two  volumes  (Madrid,  1908),  edited  by  Emilio 
Cotarelo.  For  the  above  allusion,  see  the  edition  of  1895,  Vol.  I,  p. 
153.  The  Propaladia  of  Torres  Naharro  has  also  been  reprinted,  with  an 
excellent  introductory  essay  by  Menendez  y  Pelayo,  in  two  volumes,  in  the 
Libros  de  Antaho,  Madrid,  1880  and  1900;  the  second  volume  containing 
the  introductory  essay. 

^History  of  Spanish  Literature,  New  York,  1898,  p.  169. 


THE  PROPALADIA  15 

and  in  part  imitated  not  only  in  his  entremeses  but  also  in 
the  picturesque  portion  of  his  novels."^ 
Of  Lope  de  Rueda,  Rojas  says : 

"Digo  que  Lope  de  Rueda, 
Gracioso  representante, 

Y  en  su  tiempo  gran  poeta, 
Empego  a  poner  la  farsa 
En  buen  uso  y  orden  buena, 
Porque  la  repartio  en  actos, 
Haziendo  introito  en  ella 
Que  agora  llamamos  loa,"  etc. 

{Viage  entretenido  (ed.  1603),  p.  123.) 

As  Pellicer  had  already  observed,^  Rojas  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  acquainted  with  the  J^r op aladia  of  Torres 
Naharro,  first  published  at  Naples  In  15 17,  since  he 
ascribes  the  introduction  of  the  introito  or  argumento  to 
Rueda,  though  it  had  been  used  by  Naharro  nearly  half 
a  century  before.  Nor  is  Rojas  correct  in  saying  that 
Kueda  divided  his  farsas  into  acts.  The  only  division  of 
his  plays  is  into  scenes.  Cafiete  calls  Naharro  "padre  y 
fundador  de  la  comedia  espariola."^ 

Of  the  plays  of  Naharro  numerous  editions  appeared 
after  the  first  one  at  Naples:  at  Seville  in  1520,  1526, 
1533,  and  1545;  one  at  Toledo  m  1535,  and  one  at  Ant- 
werp without  date,  but  probably  about  1550.  According 
to  Menendez  y  Pelayo,^  the  Propaladia  was  first  placed 
upon  the  Index  Expurgatorius  in  1559,  and  an  edicion 
castigada  was  issued  at  Madrid  in  1573,  one  at  Antwerp 

^  Introduction  to  his  edition  of  the  Comedias  de  Alonso  de  la  Vega,  Dres- 
den, 1905,  p.  xiv.  He  says  further:  "Lope  de  Rueda,  con  verdadero  instinto 
de  hombre  de  teatro  y  de  observador  realista  transporto  a  las  tablas  el 
tipo  de  la  prosa  de  la  Celestina,  pero  aligerindole  rnucho  de  su  opulenta 
frondosidad,  haciendole  mas  rapido  e  incisivo,  con  toda  la  diferencia  que 
va  del  libro  a  la  escena." 

^  Tratado  historico  sobre  el  Origen  y  Progresos  de  la  Comedia  y  del 
Histrionismo  en  Espafia,  Madrid,  1804,  Vol.  I,  p.  22. 

^  El  Teatro  espanol  del  Siglo  XVI,  p.  112. 

*  Propaladia,  Madrid,  1900,  Vol.  II,  p.  Ixxv.     . 


1 6  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

in  the  same  year,  and  again  at  Madrid  in  1590,  though, 
according  to  the  same  distinguished  critic,  other  editions, 
unexpurgated,  were  published  between  1559  and  1573. 
This  list  of  editions  evinces  considerable  vogue  for  the 
Propaladia,  though  its  influence  on  the  Spanish  drama  at 
this  period  does  not  seem  to  have  been  proportionate. 
Still,  those  who  are  most  competent  to  give  an  opinion  in 
the  matter  declare  that  Naharro's  influence  was  wide  and 
immediate.* 

However  this  may  be,  it  was  in  the  plays  of  Naharro 
and  Rueda  that  Lope  de  Vega,  with  the  eye  of  genius, 
saw  the  coming  comedia,  and  in  them  it  had  its  beginnings, 
as  he  himself  tells  us.  Hence  the  career  of  Lope  de  Rueda, 
who  was  both  actor  and  playwright,  is  of  especial  interest 
to  us.  Cervantes,  born  in  1547,  is  the  most  important 
witness  we  have  among  Spanish  poets  concerning  Lope  de 
Rueda.  He  saw  him  in  the  flesh.  We  can  imagine  Cer- 
vantes as  a  boy  of  ten  or  twelve  standing  in  the  square  of 
Valladolid  gazing  with  unfeigned  delight  at  the  somewhat 
crude  and  boisterous  farces  enacted,  with  due  accompani- 
ment of  horse-play,  doubtless,  by  Lope  de  Rueda  and  his 
little  company  of  strolling  players.^   They  made  an  endur- 

^  Propaladia,  Vol.  II,  pp.  cxiv  et  seq.;  Schack,  Geschichte  der  dramati- 
schcn  Literatur  und  Kunst  in  Spanien,  Frankfurt  am  Main,  1854,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  194  ff.;  Caiiete,  El  Teatro  espanol  del  Siglo  XVI,  Madrid,  1885,  p.  206; 
Ticknor,  History  of  Spanish  Literature,  Boston,  1888,  Vol.  I,  p.  209;  Vol.  II, 
p.  54.  As  long  ago  as  1749  Bias  Nasarre  said  of  our  author :  "Pero  Bartolome 
de  Torres  Naharro,  que  florecio  por  el  mismo  tiempo  debaxo  del  Pontificado 
de  Leon  X,  debe  ser  tenido  por  el  primero  que  dio  forma  d  las  Comedias  vul- 
gares;  las  suyas  se  representaron  en  Roma,"  etc.  {Comedias  y  Entremeses 
de  Miguel  de  Cervantes,  Madrid,  1749.)  A  list  of  pieces  which  were  printed 
in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  containing  several  not  men- 
tioned by  any  writer  on  the  Spanish  drama,  has  been  published  by  Emilio 
Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Catdlogo  de  Obras  dramaticas  impresas  pero  no  conocidas 
hasta  el  presente,  Madrid,  1902.  See  also  Anales  de  la  Literatura  espanola, 
ed.  Bonilla  y  San  Martin,  Madrid,  1904,  p.  236.  A  long  list  of  sixteenth- 
century  pieces  had  been  given  many  years  ago  by  Gayangos  in  his  Spanish 
translation  of  Ticknor,  Vol.  II,  pp.  523-550.  See  also  Canete,  El  Teatro 
cspahol  del  Siglo  XVI,  pp.  55  ff. 
i  (  '  Lope  de  Rueda  evidently  gave  a  performance  whenever  an  audience 
I  could  be  collected,  both  in  the  morning  and  afternoon,  for  at  the  close  of 


MIGUEL  DE  CERVANTES  17 

ing  impression  on  his  boyish  mind.  From  that  time  forth 
he  was  in  the  thrall  of  the  stage,  and  never  afterward, 
through  all  his  long  and  checkered  career,  even  when  in 
his  generous,  valiant  optimism  he  must  have  acknowledged 
that  his  plays  were  failures,  was  he  able  to  shake  off  en- 
tirely the  spell  of  the  theater.  After  the  lapse  of  more 
than  half  a  century,  in  the  prologue  to  the  volume  of  his 
Comedias  (1615),  the  old  hero  of  Lepanto,  whose  name 
was  now  the  greatest  in  all  the  literature  of  Spain,  falls 
into  one  of  his  delightfully  reminiscent  moods  and  gives 
us  an  animated  description  of  the  primitive  performances 
of  Lope  de  Rueda's  little  band  of  strollers.  The  account 
is  now  much  worn  by  constant  usage,  but  Cervantes  is  the 
only  eye-witness  who  has  left  anything  on  paper,  and  his 
narrative  must  serve  once  more  here. 

In  the  time  of  this  celebrated  Spaniard  [Lope  de  Rueda]  all  the 
properties  of  a  theatrical  manager  were  contained  in  asack(coj/tf/), 
and  consisted  of  four  white  pelices  trimmed  with  gilded  leather, 
and  four  beards  and  wigs,  with  four  staffs,  more  or  less.  The-plays 
were  colloquies  or  eclogues  between  two  or  three  shepherds  and  a 
shepherdess.  They  were  set  off  by  two  or  three  entremeses,  either 
that  of  the  "Negress,"  the  "Ruffian,"  the  "Fool,"  or  the  "Bis- 
cayan,"  for  these  four  characters  and  many  others  the  said  Lope 
acted  with  the  greatest  skill  and  propriety  that  one  can  imagine. 
At  that  time  there  were  no  tramoyas  (theatrical  machinery)  nor 
challenges  of  Moors  or  Christians  either  afoot  or  on  horse.  There 
were  no  figures  which  arose  or  seemed  to  arise  from  the  center  of 
the  earth  through  the  hollow  of  the  stage,  which  at  that  time  con- 
sisted of  four  benches  arranged  in  a  square,  with  four  or  five  boards 
upon  them,  raised  about  four  spans  from  the  ground,  nor  did  clouds 
with  angels  or  souls  descend  from  the  skies.  The  furnis^iings 
(adorno)  of  the  stage  were  an  old  woolen  blanket  drawn  by  two 
cords  from  one  side  to  the  other,  which  formed  what  is  called  a 
dressing-room  (vestuario),  behind  which  were  the  musicians,  sing- 

his  Eiifemia  he  invites  his  audience  "only  to  go  and  eat  their  dinners  and 
to  return  to  the  square,  if  they  wish  to  see  a  traitor  beheaded,  a  loyal  man 
freed,"  etc.     (Obras  de  Lope  de  Rueda.  Madrid,  1896,  Vol.  I,  p.  88.) 


yi- 


i8  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

ing  some  old  ballad  without  the  accompaniment  of  a  guitar.  .  .  . 
Lope  de  Rueda  was  succeeded  by  Nabarro,  a  native  of  Toledo,^ 
famous  as  an  impersonator  of  the  cowardly  ruffian;  he  improved 
somewhat  the  setting  of  the  comedia  {levanto  algun  tanto  mas  el 
adorno  de  las  Comedias),  and  instead  of  a  bag  for  the  costumes 
used  chests  and  trunks.  He  brought  the  musicians  from  behind  the 
curtain,  where  they  formerly  sang,  out  upon  the  stage,  removed 
the  beards  of  the  players,  for  up  to  that  time  no  actor  appeared  upon 
the  stage  without  a  false  beard,  .  .  .  except  those  who  represented 
old  men  or  other  characters  which  required  a  facial  disguise.  He 
invented  stage  machinery  (tramoyas) ,  thunder  and  lightning,  chal- 
lenges and  battles,  but  these  never  reached  the  excellence  which  we 
see  now,  etc. 

Continuing,  Cervantes  mentions  his  own  plays,  Los 
Tratos  de  Argel,  La  Destruycion  de  Numancia,  and  La 
Batalla  Naual,  which  were  then  seen  in  the  theaters  of 
Madrid,  and  speaks  of  the  innovations  introduced  by  him, 
such  as  reducing  the  comedias  from  five  acts  to  three; 
representing  for  the  first  time  upon  the  boards  the  "imag- 
inations and  hidden  thoughts  of  the  soul  and  moral  abstrac- 
tions," etc. 

All  this  is  very  Interesting,  but  the  accuracy  of  Cer- 
vantes's  statements  has  been  questioned  because  they 
apparently  do  not  agree  with  facts  that  are  known  from 
other  sources.^  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Cervantes  is 
mistaken  when  he  says  that  he  first  reduced  the  comedia 
from  five  acts  to  three.    This  had  been  done  by  Francisco 

*  Of  this  autor,  Pedro  Nabarro,  one^glay^ aurvLv.es,  La  Marquesa  Saluzia, 
llamada  Griselda,  a  drama  in  four  acts  in  verse.  From  a  unique  copy, 
dated  1603,  Dr.  C.  B.  Bourland  has  reprinted  it  in  the  Revue  Hispanique 
(1905). 

'  Juan  Rufo,  another  eye-witness  of  the  performances  of  Rueda,  cor- 
roborates the  testimony  of  Cervantes  as  regards  the  rudeness  of  the  stage  at 
that  time.  In  his  Seiscientas  Apotegmas,  y  otras  obras  en  verso  (Toledo, 
1596),  fol.  266,  v.,  he  says: 

"Quien  vio,  apenas  ha  treinta  aiios, 
de  las  farsas  la  pobreza, 
de  su  estilo  la  rudeza, 
y  sus  mas  que  humildes  panos." 


PRAGMATICA  OF  CARLOS  V.  19 

de  Avendano  as  early  as  1553.  Besides,  Schack  cites  a 
rescript  promulgated  by  Charles  V.  in  1534  against  ex- 
travagance in  dress,  "which  is  to  extend  likewise  to  players 
— men  and  women — musicians  and  other  persons  who  take 
part  in  comedias  by  singing  and  playing."  ^  Schack  observes 
that  this  decree  not  only  shows  that  the  representation  of 
comedias  in  Spain  had  reached  a  high  degree  of  refinement 
at  that  early  date,  but  that  women  also  appeared  upon  the 
stage  at  that  time,  while  later,  under  Philip  the  Second, 
women's  coles  were  played  by  boys.^ 

Another  curious  notice  referring  to  the  same  period  is 
found  in  the  Ingeniosa  Comparacion  entre  lo  antiguo  y  lo___ 
presente,  by  the  Bachiller  Villalon,  which  first  appeared  in 
1539.  The  author  says  that  never  since  the  creation  of 
the  world  had  "the  comedias  which  we  call  farsas  been 
represented  with  such  subtlety  and  ingenuity  as  nowadays." 
He  speaks  of  six  men  who  are  regularly  in  the  pay 
(asalariados)  of  the  church  of  Toledo,  of  whom  the  two 
principal  ones,  named  Correa,  are  such  remarkable  actors 
that  he  says  he  would  spend  a  large  sum  of  money  or  go 
begging  in  order  to  see  them,  "though  they  should  be  many 
miles  from  here."^ 

It  cost  but  a  copper  to  see  the  show: 

"Una  6  dos  comedias  solas, 
como  camisas  de  pobre, 
la  entrada  i  tarja  de  cobre, 
y  el  teatro  casi  a  solas." 

(Quoted  by  Wolf,  Siudien,  p.  606.) 

*  Pragmatica  de  Carlos  V.  y  Dona  Juana,  su  raadre,  hecha  en  Toledo  en 
el  ano  de  1534  (Lib.  VII,  Ley  i,  Tit.  12  de  la  Nueva  Recopilacion) :  "Item 
mandamos  que  lo  que  cerca  de  los  trages  esta  prohibido  y  mandado  por  las 
leyes  de  este  titulo,  se  entienda  asi  mismo  con  los  coraediantes,  hombres  y 
mugeres,  musicos  y  las  demas  personas  que  assisten  en  las  comedias  para 
cantar  y  taner,  las  quales  incurren  en  las  mismas  penas  que  cerca  desto 
estan  impuestas. ' '  {Geschichte  der  dramatischen  Lit.  u.  Kunst  in  Spanien, 
Vol.  I,  p.  198,  note.) 

'  See  below,  Chapter  VI. 

'  "Pues  en  las  representaciones  de  comedias  que  llamamos  farsas,  nunca 
desde  la  creacion  del  mundo  se  representaron  con  tanta  agudeza  6  industria 
como    agora,    porque   viven    seys   hombres    asalariados   por    la    Iglesia   de 


20  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

However,  neither  the  rescript  of  Charles  V.  in  1534,  nor 
the  account  given  by  VUlalon  in  1539,  seem  to  me  to  in- 
validate in  the  slightest  degree  the  narrative  of  Cervantes. 
The  decree  of  1534  relates,  almost  certainly,  to  the  elab- 
orate representations  that  were  given  at  public  and  church 
festivals,  indeed  Villalon  states  explicitly  that  the  players 
whom  he  had  seen  were  regularly  in  the  pay  of  the  church 
of  Toledo.  So  far  as  we  know  there  were  no  fixed  corrales 
or  theaters  In  Spain  at  this  early  period  nor  for  many 
years  thereafter.  We  may  be  quite  sure  that  the  little 
company  of  Lope  de  Rueda  (he  died  in  1565)  never 
acted  upon  a  permanent  stage.  Juan  Rufo,  quoted  above, 
alludes  to  the  "cruel  Inn-yard"  and  its  furnace-heat  in 
summer,  while  the  memory  of  the  icy  winter  blasts  still 
makes  him  shiver.^  Surely  strolling  players,  acting  even 
a  quarter  of  a  century  before  this,  were  not  at  all  likely 
to  be  attired  in  such  magnificent  costumes  as  to  bring 
them  under  the  ban  of  the  "Pragmatica"  of  Charles  V. 
Hence  the  representations  against  which  the  rescript  of 
1534  was  directed  were  undoubtedly  the  religious  dramas 
that  were  acted  in  the  public  squares  or  within  the 
churches,  or  perhaps  in  the  open  space  without  the  church. 
I  'Moreover,  all  the  evidence  furnished  by  the  comedia  Itself 
f  tends  to  corroborate  and  validate  the  account  given  by 
1  Cervantes.  It  may  be  said  with  a  great  degree  of  proba- 
bility that  the  stage  accessories  in  the  public  theaters  of 

Toledo,  de  los  quales  son  capitanes  dos  que  se  llaman  los  Correas,  que  en 
la  representacion  contrahazen  todos  los  descuydos  y  avisos  de  los  hombres, 
como  si  Naturaleza,  nuestra  universal  madre,  los  representasse  alii.  Estoy 
tan  admirado  de  los  ver,  que  si  alguno  me  pudiera  pintar  con  palabras  lo 
mucho  que  el  los  en  este  caso  son,  gastara  yo  grandes  summas  de  dineros 
6  mendicando  fuera  por  los  ver,  aunque  estuvieran  mil  leguas  de  aqui." 
(Page  180  of  the  reprint  by  the  Sociedad  de  Bibliofilos  Espaiioles,  1898, 
and  quoted  by  Menendez  y  Pelayo  in  his  introduction  to  the  Propaladia  of 
Torres  Naharro,  Vol.  II,  p.  cl,  Madrid,  1900.)  See  also  Caoete,  Teatro 
espahol,  p.  95,  note. 

'"Porque  era  el  patio  cruel, 

fragua  ardiente  en  el  estio, 

de  invierno  un  elado  rio, 

que  aun  agora  tiemblan  d61." 


ITALIAN  COMEDIES  IN  SPAIN  21 

Spain  down  to  almost  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury were  of  a  very  simple  and  elementary  kind.  Two  or 
three  musicians  had  been  substituted  for  the  ballad  singers, 
some  simple  devices  to  indicate  locality  and  the  introduction 
of  crude  stage  machinery.  Indeed,  in  spite  of  the  improve- 
ments introduced  upon  the  stage  by  Cervantes  himself  and 
to  which  he  alludes  with  evident  pride  in  the  Prologue 
above  quoted,  we  need  go  no  further  than  his  own  plays  to 
show  the  primitive  character  of  the  stage  machinery  of  his 
day.  To  represent  thunder  and  lightning,  we  read  the 
following  stage  direction  in  his  Numancia:  "Under  the 
stage  they  make  a  noise  with  a  barrel  full  of  stones  and 
discharge  a  rocket."^ 

That  representations  were  given  in  Spain,  at  this  early 
period,  in  which  there  was,  in  all  probability,  much  display 
of  costume,  there  is  other  evidence  to  prove.  The  come- 
dias  of  Torres  Naharro,  as  we  have  seen,  were  published 
as  early  as  15 17,  and  Italian  comedies  were  not  impossibly 
known  in  Spain  at  this  time  or  not  long  thereafter.  As 
we  shall  see  (below,  p.  29),  one  Muzio,  with  his  company 
of  Italian  players,  had  taken  part  in  the  Corpus  festival 
at  Seville  in  1538.  The  earliest  known  account  of  the 
performance  of  an  Italian  comedy  in  Spain  is  dated  1548, 
when  one  of  Ariosto's  comedies  was  represented  at  Valla- 
dolid  on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  the  Infanta  Dona 
Maria,  daughter  of  Charles  V.,  to  Maximilian,  Prince  of 
Hungary.  It  was  performed  "with  such  apparatus  and 
scenery  as  are  used  at  Rome  in  the  representation  of  come- 
dies," and  was  "a  royal  and  sumptuous  affair." ^  Creize- 
nach,  commenting  on  this,  says:  "This  is  also  the  first 
known  instance  in  Spain  of  the  use  of  the  scenic  arrange- 

^"Hagase  ruido  debaxo  del  tablado  con  un  barril  lleno  de  piedras,  y 
disparese  un  cohete  volador."  {Numancia,  Act  II,  Scene  II,  p,  195,  ed.  of 
1784.) 

*PelHcer,  Vol.  I,  p.  31.  The  latter's  authority,  as  Stiefel  {Zeitschrift  fur 
Roman.  Phil.,  XV,  p.  319)  remarks,  is  Caluete  de  Estrella,  Felicissimo 
Viaje  del  Principe  Phelippe  .  .  .  ,  Anvers,  1552,  fol.  2^. 


22  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

ments  of  the  Renaissance,  the  sight  of  which  was  evidently 
a  matter  of  the  first  importance  to  the  narrator,  for  he 
does  not  even  mention  the  title  of  Ariosto's  comedy. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  same  year,  Philip  II.,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Charles,  saw  a  comedy  performed  at  Milan,  with 
the  greatest  refinement  and  luxury  of  scenic  decoration, 
and  after  he  had  ascended  the  throne  (1556),  according 
to  a  later  account,  Antonio  Vignali  of  Siena,  a  member  of 
the  Academia  degli  Intronati,  is  said  to  have  produced 
Italian  comedies  at  his  court.  Still,  after  this  time  we  hear 
of  no  great  lords  or  rich  corporations  in  Spain  instituting 
such  elaborate  productions.  These  were  naturally  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  professional  actor,  but  the  latter  had 
found,  even  as  Torres  Naharro  before  him,  many  a  useful 
hint  in  the  Italian  comedy."  ^  Furthermore,  we  read  that 
in  1 561,  on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  Guglielmo, 
Duke  of  Mantua,  to  Eleonora  of  Austria,  the  celebrated 
"scultore  del  re  di  Spagna,"  Leon  Leoni  of  Arezzo,  was 
sent  to  Mantua  "a  inventare  e  porre  in  ordine  qualche 
bellissimo  apparato  ed  invenzione."  ^ 

These  representations,  with  their  wealth  of  costume  and 
decorations,  were  Italian  comedies,  and  were  performed 
privately  by  Italian  players,  before  the  King  or  his  great 
nobles.  They  had  nothing  to  do  with  plays  in  the  market- 
places, for  theaters,  so  far  as  we  have  any  information, 
were  then  unknown  in  Spain.  But  during  the  great 
church    festivals    or    on    other    solemn    occasions,    here, 

*  Geschichte  des  neueren  Dramas,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  167.  See  also  ibid.,  Vol.  II, 
p.  297.  Stiefel  (/.  c),  and  after  him  Creizenach,  quotes  Scipio  Bargagli, 
Commedie  degli  Accademici  Intronati,  Vol.  II,  p.  494,  as  follows:  ' '  Arsiccio 
intronato  (i.e.  Vignali),  con  onore  stato  conosciuto  infino  dalla  remotissima 
Spagna,  mentre  in  buonissimo  grado  vi  servi  Filippo  il  Secondo  \k  regnante, 
a  diletto  di  cui  fece  alia  guisa  Italiana,  ivi  non  prima  conosciuta,  rappre- 
sentare,  dal  regal  tesoro  illustrate,  piu  e  chiarissime  commedie,  dalla  ricca 
e  piacevolissima  vena  del  suo  felice  e  tanto  universale  ingenio  scaturite. ' ' 
According  to  this,  as  Creizenach  observes,  these  representations  must  have 
taken  place  between  1556  and  the  time  of  Vignali's  death  (1559).  while 
"regnante"  Philip  might  be  taken  as  early  as  1543. 

*D'Ancona,  Origini  del  Teatro  Italiano,  Vol.  II,  p.  416,  note. 


FESTAL  REPRESENTATIONS  23 

doubtless,  as  in  religious  or  festal  representations  in 
other  countries,  the  costumes  were  often  very  elaborate 
and  costly,  ^chack  mentions  such  a  representation  at 
Valladolid,  on'*June  5,  1527,  at  the  christening  of  the 
Infanta  Philip.  On  this  occasion  the  auto  of  the  "Baptism 
of  St.  John"  was  performed.^  The  same  author,  quoting 
Ortiz  de  Zuniga,  Anales  de  Sevilla,  ed.  of  1796,  Vol.  Ill, 
pp.  339  ff,,  mentions  a  magnificent  representation  given  in 
Seville  in  the  previous  year  (1526)  in  honor  of  the  mar-l 
riage  of  Charles  V  with  the  Princess  Isabel  of  Portugal,' 
andTlso  the  autos  represented  at  Corpus  in  1532,  likewise 
at  Seville.  Schack  remarks  that  it  is  very  probable  that 
allegorical  figures  appeared  in  these  autos,  though  this 
fact  is  not  expressly  stated.^ 

In  1563  there  was  represented  at  Plasencia,  at  the  festi- 
val oTTToTpus  Christi,  the  tragedy  of  Nabuco  Donosor, 
with  elaborate  scenic  display  {con  gran  aparato),  "and 
when  the  children  were  thrown  into  the  furnace,  it  seemed 
so  real  that  some  persons  believed  that  they  were  actually 
thrown  in."^    Seven  years  after  this,  in  1570,  we  find  the 

*  See  the  passage  from  Sandoval,  Historia  de  Carlos  V.,  Valladolid, 
1604,  Bk.  XVI,  quoted  by  Schack,  Geschichte,  Vol.  I,  p.  200.  On  page  403, 
indeed,  he  mentions  some  elaborate  religious  representations  which  were 
given  a  quarter  of  a  century  earlier,  in  1501,  in  honor  of  the  Palsgrave, 
afterward  Kurfiirst  Friedrich  II.  He  quotes  from  Hubertus  Thomas  of 
Liittich,  Annates  de  vita  et  rebus  gestis  Friderici  II.,  Francof.,  1624  (Ger- 
man: Spiegel  des  Humors  groszer  Potentaten,  Schlensingen,  1628).  Speak- 
ing of  the  "pomphaften  dramatischen  Spielen"  given  in  Barcelona,  he  says : 
"Da  war  angestellt  ein  gemachter  Himmel,  dabei  man  auch  die  Holle  sah, 
sehr  schrecklich  und  grausam.  Dabei  wurden  viele  Historien  gespielt, 
welche  fast  an  die  vier  Stunden  wahrten."  "In  Perpignan  sahen  wir 
Stiicke  aus  dem  alten  und  neuen  Testament,  Paradies  und  Holle  waren  da 
gleich  prachtig  zu  schauen,  und  vier  Stunden  lang  gab  man  da  ein 
schauerliches  Stiick  zu  sehen.  Die  Engel  in  weiszen  Kleidern,  die  Teufel 
in  Gold  und  Silber  stattlich  angethan  stritten  mit  einander;  unter  gewalti- 
gem  Krachen  und  Platzen  sprangen  die  Raketen  und  es  gab  einen  Hollen- 
larm,  als  bewegten  sich  Himmel  und  Erde.  Zuletzt  kam  Judas  und  erhing 
sich  an  einem  Fenster,  ward  auch  sobald  mit  einem  Feuerstrahl  getroffen 
und  verschwand,  dasz  ihn  Niemand  mehr  sahe." 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  202,  203,  and  p.  205  for  a  list  of  early  autos. 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  16.  See  also  the  account  of  the  elaborate 
representation  in  1578,  in  the  public  square  of  Plasencia,  of  El  Naufragio 


0 


24  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

students  of  the  college  oi  San  Hermenegildo  representing 
a  tragedy  entitled  San  Hermenegildo,  in  which  there  were 
thirty-four  characters,  besides  soldiers,  pages,  etc.  While 
this  was  a  festival  performance  given  under  the  direction 
of  the  Fathers  of  the  Company  of  Jesus,  and  not  a  repre- 
sentation in  a  public  theater,  we  have  here  one  of  the 
earliest  descriptions  of  stage  scenery,  and  hence  It  is  of 
interest. 

The  stage  was  about  five  feet  (un  estado)  in  height  and  thirty- 
nine  feet  square.  On  the  front  was  a  large  door  of  fine  architec- 
ture, representing  the  city  of  Seville,  on  the  frieze  of  which  was  a 
shield  with  the  letters  S.  P.  Q.  H.  At  the  two  sides  of  this  door 
ran  a  handsome  canvas  of  a  wall  with  its  battlements,  forth  from 
which,  projecting  a  distance  of  three  feet,  arose  towers  somewhat 
higher,  of  which  the  tower  on  the  left  served  as  the  prison  of  San 
Hermenegildo,  while  the  one  on  the  right  was  the  castle  for  the 
entertainments.  On  the  sides  of  these  two  towers  sufficient  room 
remained  for  the  exit  of  those  personages  who  were  represented  as 
belonging  outside  of  Seville,  such  as  the  King  Leovigildo  and 
others,  for  through  the  middle  gate  only  those  entered  and  de- 
parted who  were  supposed  to  be  from  Seville,  like  San  Hermene- 
gildo,^ etc. 

Juan  de  Malara,  the  reputed  author  of  this  tragedy, 
was,  as  is  well  known,  an  imitator  of  the  ancient  comic 
poets,  as  opposed  to  the  popular  style  of  Lope  de  Rueda. 
But  it  were  useless  to  cite  other  religious  or  festal  repre- 
sentations. We  have  already  passed  beyond  the  period 
of  Lope  de  Rueda,  and  our  chief  reason  for  citing  such 
spectacles  is  (as  this  is  not  a  history  of  the  drama) 
to  show  that,  while  they  were  not  uncommon  during  the 

de  Jonas  profeta,  in  Canete,  El  Teatro  Espanol  del  Sigh  XVI,  p.  139,  and 
of  the  Representacion  of  Francisco  de  las  Cuebas  in  Alcala  in  1568.  {Ibid., 
p.  323.)  This  shows,  as  Sr.  Canete  says,  that  "el  aparato  esc6nico  de  los 
dramas  religiosos  era  en  toda  Espana  lujosisimo  durante  el  siglo  XVl."  A 
copy  of  this  Representacion  of  Cuebas  is  before  me,  made  by  my  col- 
league, Dr.  Crawford,  who  purposes  publishing  it  shortly. 
*  Sanchcz-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  41. 


A  TRUSTWORTHY  WITNESS  25 

time  of  Lope  de  Rueda  and  even  long  before,  they 
cannot  serve  in  support  of  the  statements  of  some  writers 
that  during  this  period  the  costumes  and  accessories 
of  the  popular  theater  In  Spain  were  of  an  elaborate  and 
sumptuous  character.  For  such  spectacles  as  we  have 
mentioned  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  performances  of 
strolling  players  In  the  market-places,  and  hence  a  "prag- 
matlca"  of  1534  could  not  have  had  them  in  view.  We 
are  therefore  safe  in  accepting  the  account  of  Cervantes 
In  regard  to  Lope  de  Rueda's  performances  as  essentially 
true. 


CHAPTER  II 

The  corrales  of  Madrid.  The  Corral  de  la  Pacheca.  The  Corral 
de  Burguillos.  The  Corral  de  Puente.  The  foundation  of  the 
two  famous  theaters :  The  Corral  de  la  Cruz  and  the  Corral  del 
Principe. 

Madrid  became  the  capital  of  Spain  in  1560.  Strolling 
players  had  certainly  appeared  there  long  before  this  date, 
but  with  the  rapid  growth  of  the  city  in  wealth  and  popula- 
tion, which  naturally  ensued  when  it  became  the  official 
center  of  the  kingdom,  it  was  necessary  to  find  some  fixed 
place  where  these  companies  of  players  could  perform. 
The  establishment  of  permanent  theaters  in  Madrid  was, 
at  the  outset,  connected  with  an  event  that  seemed  to  have 
but  a  remote  relation  to  public  amusements.^  In  156^  a 
number  of  charitable  citizens  of  Madrid  founded  a  fra- 
ternity called  the  Cofradia  de  la  Sagrada  Pasicfn,  the 
primary  object  of  which  was  merely  to  feed  and  clothe  the 
poor ;  but,  under  the  auspices  of  the  King  and  the  Council 
of  Castile,  their  field  was  soon  widened,  and  a  hospital  for 
poor  women  suffering  from  fever,  "because  there  was  no 
other  hospital  for  this  purpose  in  the  capital,"  was  founded 
in  the  calle  de  Toledo.  In  order  to  increase  the  funds  of 
the  hospital  the  President  of  Castile,  Cardinal  Espinosa, 
and  the  Councilors  granted  to  the  Cofradia  the  privilege 

*  Schack,  Geschichte  der  dramatischen  Literatur  und  Kunst  in  Spanien, 
Vol.  I,  p.  264,  remarks  that  such  a  connection  between  public  amusements 
and  religious  or  charitable  foundations  seemed  natural  enough  to  the 
Spanish  mind ;  that  it  seemed  equally  natural  to  the  English  mind,  we  shall 
see  further  on.  The  theater  being  supported  by  the  public,  it  does  not 
appear  so  very  strange,  after  all,  that  it  should  contribute  to  the  public 
charities. 

26 


THE  COFRADIAS  27 

of  providing  a  place  for  the  representation  of  all  comedias 
given  in  Madrid,  and  of  appropriating  to  their  pious 
purposes  the  funds  thus  obtained.^  Two  years  after  this, 
in  1567,  another  fraternity  was  founded  called  the  Cofra- 
dia  de  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Soledad,  with  charitable  aims 
of  greater  scope  than  those  of  the  older  fraternity.  The 
Cofradia  de  la  Soledad  bought  a  house  near  the  Puerta  del 
,Sol  and  fitted  it  up  as  a  hospital.  The  places  designated 
for  theatrical  representations  by  the  Cofradia  de  la  Pasion 
were  three :  a  square  or  corral  in  the  Calle  del  Sol ;  another 
belonging  to  Isabel  Pacheco,  in  the  Calle  del  Principe,^  and 
a  third  in  the  same  street — a  corral  leased  from  one  Bur- 
guillos — which  afterward  passed  into  the  control  of  the 
Cofradia  de  la  Soledad.  For  in  1574  the  latter  brother- 
hood also  petitioned  for  the  right  to  furnish  a  place  for 
the  representation  of  comedias  in  order  to  maintain  its 
hospital,^  and  the  matter  ended  in  a  compromise  with  the 

'  If  DOW  we  cast  a  glance  at  theatrical  affairs  .in  London,  we  find  that  in 
March,  1573-4,  the  Lord  Chamberlain  (Earl  of  Essex)  requested  that  one 
Mr.  Holmes  might  appoint  places  for  plays  and  interludes  within  the  city. 
"The  Mayor  and  aldermen  replied  that  it  would  hurt  their  liberties  so  to 
do,  and  that  it  was  unfitting  for  any  private  person  to  hold  such  an  office. 
They  had  had  preferable  offers  of  a  similar  nature,  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor  in  the  hospitals ;  they  would  accept  these,  if  any."  (Fleay,  Chronicle 
History  of  the  London  Stage,  1559-1642,  London,  1890,  p.  45.)  And  an 
Act  of  the  Common  Council  of  London  provided  that  all  plays  performed  in 
the  city  should  first  be  licensed  .  .  .  and  that  of  the  money  taken  there 
should  be  applied  to  the  relief  of  the  sick  poor  such  sums  as  shall  be  agreed 
on.  {Ibid.,  p.  46.)  Again,  on  October  8,  1594,  Lord  Hunsdon  wrote  to 
the  Lord  Mayor  asking  permission  for  his  players  to  play  at  the  Cross-Keys, 
"as  they  have  been  accustomed  [i.e.,  before  1592].  They  will  play  from 
2  p.  M.  to  4,  instead  of  beginning  at  4  or  5,  .  .  .  and  be  contributory  to  the 
parish  poor."  (Halliwell-Phillipps,  Illustrations,  p.  31.  See  also  Collier, 
Annals  of  the  Stage,  Vol.  I,  p.  216,  and  Hensloive's  Diary,  ed.  W.  W. 
Greg,  Vol.  II,  p.  77.) 

*  There  is  a  notice  of  a  performance  here  in  1568:  "En  miercoles  a  5  de 
Mayo  de  1568  aiios  entro  a  representar  Velazquez  en  el  Corral  desta  casa". 
ha  de  dar  seis  reales  cada  dia  de  los  que  representare. ' '  (Pellicer,  Tratado 
historico,  Vol.  I,  p.  48.  El  Corral  de  la  Pacheca,  by  Ricardo  Sepulveda, 
Madrid,  1888.) 

^  Among  the  reasons  on  which  they  based  their  petition  were  that  "come- 
dians were  people  coming  and  going  to  the  court  [Madrid],  and  as  they 
were  not  to  remain  therein  longer  than  eight  or  ten  days,  they  performed 
freely  wherever  they  listed,  and  making  use  of  this  and  wishing  to  do  a 


2  8  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

older  fraternity,  the  Cofradia  de  la  Soledad  acquiring  the 
corral  of  Burguillos.  Both  brotherhoods  finally  decided 
to  join  forces  and  petitioned  Dr.  Antonio  de  Aguilera, 
CouncHdf  of  Castile  and  deputy  for  the  administration  of 
the  eaid  hospitals,  that  two  thirds  of  the  profits  accruing 
from  these  corrales  should  go  to  the  Cofradia  de  la  Pasion, 
and  the  remaining  third  to  the  Cofradia  de  la  Soledad;  the 
expenses  to  be  shared  in  the  same  proportion.  This  agree- 
ment of  the  two  brotherhoods  was  approved  by  Dr.  Agui- 
lera on  June  7,  1574. 

These  corrales— il  name  that  down  to  our  own  day  has 
remained  synonymous  with  playhouse — were  originally, 
before  they  were  transformed  into  theaters,  the  yards  of 
houses.^  In  the  rear  was  the  stage ;  the  larger  part  of  the 
audience  viewed  the  performance  standing  in  the  court- 
yard, while  the  windows  of  the  principal  building  and  of 
the  surrounding  houses  served  as  boxes  for  the  more  dis- 
tinguished spectators.  Arrangements  for  the  comfort  of 
actors  and  audience  were  at  first,  naturally,  very  crude. 
The  stage,  as  well  as  the  whole  court-yard,  had  no  roof 
nor  any  kind  of  protection  against  sunshine  or  rain.  If 
the  weather  was  unfavorable  the  representation  was  either 
suspended  or  brought  suddenly  to  a  close.^ 

As  early  as  1574  a  company  of  Italian  players  under 

good  work  and  a  charity  to  the  brotherhood  of  La  Soledad,  Alonso  Rodri- 
guez and  other  comedians  were' representing  comedias  to  aid  in  the  bringing 
up  of  foundlings,  in  the  Corral  de  Burguillos,  which  the  brotherhood  had 
provided,  and  for  which  it  had  paid."     (Pellicer,  Tratado,  Vol.  I,  p.  50.) 

^  So  in  England  the  immediate  predecessor  of  the  playhouse  was  the  inn- 
yard.  Until  1576,  Fleay  says,  public  performances  in  London  were  given  in 
inn-yards,  of  which  there  were  five.     (See  also  Collier,  Annals,  Vol.  I,  p.  36.) 

^  Schack,  Vol.  I,  p.  266.  Under  date  of  December  10,  1579,  we  read: 
"No  hubo  representacion  en  ningun  corral  por  haber  llovido  mucho." 
(Perez  Pastor,  in  Bull.  Hispanique  (1906),  p.  76.)  Moreover,  when  there 
were  but  few  people  in  the  corral  the  managers  refused  to  give  a  perform- 
ance. "27  de  Agosto  de  1579.— No  hubo  representacion  en  la  calle  del 
Lobo  {Corral  de  Puente)  porque  Cisneros  estaba  ausente,  ni  en  la  Pacheca 
porque  Ganasa  no  quiso  representar  al  ver  que  habia  poca  gente  en  el 
corral,  y  se  devolvio  el  dinero  a  las  personas  que  habian  entrado."  {Ibid., 
P-  74-) 


THE  CORRAL  DE  LA  PACHECA  29 

Alberto  Nazeri  de  Ganassa^  presented  plays  at  Madrid 
(mostly  in  pantomime,  as  it  appears),  and  in  the  same  year 
Ganassa  succeeded  in  having  a  theater  erected  in  the  Corral 
de  la  Pacheca.  "For  while  comedias  had  already  been 
represented  in  the  said  corral,  it  was  wholly  open,  and  the 
stage,  raised  seats,  and  patio  were  exposed  to  the  inclem- 
ency of  the  weather,  so  that  when  it  rained  no  perform- 
ance could  be  given."  And  in  1574  the  theater  was  built ^ 
by  two  carpenters,  using  the  "tablados,  lienzos  y  otros 
pertrechos  del  Corral  de  la  Pacheca,"  and  also  the  awn- 
ings which  had  been  made  to  shade  the  stage  of  this  corral 
from  the  sun.^ 

The  agreement  was  that  a  theater  and  stage  should  be 
built,  wholly  covered  by  a  roof,  and  that  this  theater 
should  be  leased  for  a  period  of  nine  or  ten  years,  etc.,  the 

^  Concerning  Ganassa,  who  had  a  company  of  players  in  France  in  Sep- 
tember, 1571,  see  Baschet,  Les  Comediens  Italiens,  Paris,  1882,  pp.  18-25, 
and  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales  del  Teatro  en  Seville,  Sevilla,  1898,  p.  47.  As 
Ganassa  appeared  in  Seville  in  1575  in  the  Corral  de  Don  Juan,  the 
corrales  of  the  latter  city  were  probably  established  as  early  as  those  of 
Madrid.  (Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  53,  and  see  below.)  Ganassa  seems 
to  have  been  at  the  head  of  the  company  called  the  Gelosi  as  early  as  1572, 
and  to  him  is  probably  due  the  invention  of  the  second  Zanni  or  Arlecchino. 
Scherillo  says:  "La  compagnia,  che  sembra  avesse  gi^  allora  (1572)  il  titolo 
del  Gelosi,  era  condotta  da  un  bergamasco  Alberto,  noto  pel  suo  norae  o 
soprannome  di  Ganassa ;  al  quale,  oltre  tutto  il  resto,  si  deve  fors'  anche 
I'invenzione  della  parte  e  del  nome  del  secondo  Zanni,  cioe  dell'  Arlecchino." 
{La  Commedia  dell'  Arte,  in  La  Vita  Italiana  del  Seicento,  Milano,  1895, 
p.  451.)  It  appears  that  a  company  of  Italian  players  had  visited  Spain  as 
early  as  1538,  when  one  Muzio,  "Italiano  de  la  Comedia,"  was  in  Seville, 
taking  part  in  the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi.  (Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales, 
p.  47,  note.)  The  petition  of  Muzio,  which  is  found  in  Vol.  VI  of  the 
Escribania  de  Cabildo  of  the  municipal  Archives  of  Seville,  is  as  follows: 
"Los  Italianos  que  sacaron  los  carros  en  la  fiesta  del  Corpus  Cristi  supli- 
can  a  V.  S.  que,  pues  es  costumbre  de  repartir  joyas  a  quien  mas  buena 
voluntad  y  obras  mostrare  en  tal  dia,  que  habiendo  ellos  hecho  todo  lo  que 
pudieron,  sean  V.  S.  tan  benignas  que,  aunque  en  ellos  haya  poca  parte  de 
merecimientos,  puedan  gozar  della,  y  en  todo  sea,  como  suplican,  con 
aquella  brevedad  que  el  favor  de  V.  S.  y  sus  necesidades  requieren,  a  fin 
que  se  puedan  ir  a  su  viaje,  e  quitarse  de  los  gastos,  que  son  muchos,  que 
hasta  agora  han  tenido  para  aguardar  tan  senalada  merced." — Muzio, 
Italiano  de  la  Comedia.  {Ibid.,  p.  47,  note.)  Stiefel  {Zeitschrift  fiir 
Roman.  Phil.,  Vol.  XV,  p.  320)  conjectures  that  Lope  de  Rueda  may  have 
joined  this  company  of  Muzio's,  and  it  is  not  improbable. 

^Pellicer,  Tratado  historico.  Vol.  I,  p.  54. 


30  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

rent  being  fixed  at  ten  reals  per  day.    But,  in  fact,  the  roof 
covered  only  the  stage  and  the  sides  of  the  patio;  the  sole 
covering  of  the  latter  was  an  awning  to  shade  the  specta- 
tor from  the  sun.     From  this  patio  the  rank  and  file — the 
ivulffo  or  ffente  del  bronce — viewed  the  play,  standing.    On 
[account  of  the  clamor  and  uproar  they  made,  they  were 
'  called  mosqueteros.     So  in  France   "the  boisterous  and 
vulgar"  stood,  as  did  the  "groundlings"  in  the  pit  of  the 
inn-yards  of  London. 

Ganassa  further  agreed  to  perform  two  comedias  for 
the  benefit  of  the  theater,  to  advance  600  reals  toward  the 
erection  of  it— to  be  returned  to  him  at  the  rate  of  ten  reals 
per  day  (the  rental  of  the  playhouse)  — and  agreed  besides 
to  give  sixty  performances. 

Of  the  plays  performed  by  Ganassa  and  his  Italian  com- 
pany, Pellicer  says:  "Representaban  comedias  italianas, 
mimicas  por  la  mayor  parte,  y  bufonescas,  de  asuntos 
triviales  y  populares.  Introducian  en  ellas  las  personas 
del  Arlequino,  del  Pantalone,  y  del  Dotore."^  This  was 
the  Italian  commedia  d£ll'  arte.  Ganassa  seems  to  have 
made  several  journeys  to  Spain  with  his  company,  for 
after  this  first  visit  in  1574,  he  appeared  again  in  June  and 
July,  1579  (see  below,  p.  31),  at  the  Corral  de  Puente, 
and  also  in  the  beginning  of  the  following  year  in  the 
Pacheca  and  again  during  the  years  158 1  and  1582,^  and 
in  the  Corral  del  Principe  in  1584.^  He  seems  to  have 
visited  Spain  again  in  1603,  according  to  Pellicer,^  though 
his  statements  are  not  clear  on  this  point.  We  may  be 
quite  sure  that  the  financial  success  reaped  by  Ganassa 
and  his  players,  to  which  Ricardo  de  Turia  (Don  Pedro 

*  Tratado  historico,  Vol.  I,  p.  53. 

'Under  date  of  December  31,  1581,  we  find  the  curious  notice  that 
"Saldana  did  not  perform  on  this  day,  because  he  and  his  company  were  at 
the  Teatro  de  la  Cruz  to  see  the  Italians."  (See  Perez  Pastor,  in  Bull. 
Hispanique,  April -June,  1906,  p.  149,  and  Appendix  A.) 

'  See  below,  p.  43. 

*  Vol.  I,  pp.  57  and  72. 


THE  VALDIVIESO  AND  THE  PUENTE    31 

Juan  de  Rejaule  y  Toledo)^  alludes  many  years  after- 
ward, induced  other  Italian  actors  to  try  their  fortunes 
upon  Spanish  soil.    To  these  we  shall  recur  further  on. 

The  Corral  de  la  Pacheca,  as  stated  above,  was  in  the 
Calle  del  Principe..  The  increased  demand  for  theatrical 
representations,  however,  now  induced  the  same  Cofradias 
to  rent  another  corral,  belonging  to  Cristobal  de  la  Puente, 
in  the  Calle  del  Lobo,  which  they  furnished  with  benches 
and  gradas  or  raised  seats,  and  fitted  it  up  for  the  per- 
formance of  comedias.  Besides,  another  corral  was  pro- 
vided by  the  fraternities  for  Francisco  Osorio,  a  theatrical 
manager,  who  came  to  Madrid  with  his  company  in  June, 
1579.  To  Osorio  was  assigned  the  Corral  de  Valdivieso 
by  the  then  comisario  de  comedias,  Francisco  de  Prado, 
"and  the  said  Osorio  has  bound  himself  to  build  a  stage 
and  two  platforms  (tablados)  at  the  sides,  at  his  own  cost, 
and  the  profits  arising  therefrom  shall  be  for  the  hospitals, 
without  any  deductions  being  made,  and  besides  the  said 
Osorio  is  to  give  ten  reals  for  every  day  that  he  performs, 
and  to-day  [June  7,  1579]  is  the  first  day  that  the  said 
Osorio  represents,  while  also  on  this  day  Salcedo  repre- 
sents in  the  Corral  de  la  Pacheca  and  Ganassa  in  the 
Puente."  ^  We  learn,  moreover,  that  Osorio  only  gave  per- 
formances on  June  7,  8,  and  9,  when,  on  account  of  the 
small  number  of  spectators,  he  abandoned  the  corral.  On 
Sunday,  June  7,  1579,  the  Hospital  de  la  Pasion  received, 
as  its  two-thirds  share  from  the  performances  of  Ganassa, 
who  was  representing  in  the  Corral  de  Puente,  and  from 
Salcedo,  in  the  Corral  de  la  Pacheca,  two  hundred  and 
twenty-one  reals  and  ten  maravedis,  and  on  June  8  and  9 
these  receipts  were  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  reals  twelve 

*  In  his  Apologetico  de  las  Comedias  espanolas,  prefixed  to  the  second  part 
of  Norte  de  la  Poesia  Espanola,  etc.,  Valencia,  1616,  he  speaks  of  "el  famoso 
comico  Ganaqa,  que  en  la  primera  entrada  que  hizo  en  ella  [Espana]  robo 
igualmente  el  aplauso  y  dinero  de  todos."  I  possess  an  excellent  copy  of 
this  very  rare  book. 

'P6rez  Pastor,  in  Bull.  Hispanique,  1906,  p.  72,  and  see  also  Appendix  A. 


32  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

maravedi's,  and  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  reals  ten 
maravedis  respectively.  Ganassa  and  Salcedo  also  repre- 
sented on  Trinity  Sunday,  and  on  June  i8  we  learn  that 
Ganassa  had  gone  to  Toledo  for  the  festival,  while 
Salcedo  was  engaged  in  the  festival  at  Madrid,  so 
that  there  were  no  representations  in  the  Corral  de 
Puente,  where  Ganassa  had  performed,  nor  in  the  Pacheca, 
which  Saldaiia  had  occupied.  On  June  24  Ganassa  re- 
turned from  Toledo  and  again  performed  in  the  Puente, 
and  on  June  28  and  29  in  the  Pacheca.  On  July  2 
Ganassa  appeared  in  the  Pacheca  "and  declared  that  he 
had  been  given  a  license  by  the  Council  of  Madrid  to 
perform  two  days  in  each  week."^  In  these  corrales 
various  autores  or  theatrical  managers  gave  performances, 
among  them  Ganassa,  Cisneros,  Alonso  Rodriguez  "el 
Toledano,"     Jeronimo    Velazquez,     Francisco     Salcedo, 

;  Rivas,  Juan  Granado,  Alonso  Rodriguez  of  Seville,  Sal- 

,  daiia,  and  others. ^ 

Of  these  directors  of  companies  many  wrote  farces  or 

icomedias,^  and  the  term  autor  was  therefore  strictly  appro- 
priate  to  them  at  this  time.  It  was  not  till  some  years 
afterward  that  the  title  autor  de  comedias  came  to  mean 

*  The  representations  during  the  three  next  succeeding  years  will  be  found 
in  Appendix  A.  The  list  is  copied  from  the  very  important  article  by 
Dr.  Perez  Pastor,  in  the  Bull.  Hispanique,  1906. 

'Pellicer  mentions  Alonso  Velazquez  among  these  early  autores,  but  ac- 
cording to  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  98,  this  autor  de  comedias  was  not 
born  till  1572. 

^  Of  these  autores  Antonio  de  Villegas  is  said  to  have  written  fifty-four 
comedias  and  forty  entremeses,  according  to  Pellicer,  Vol.  I,  p.  116.  The 
latter  quotes  Rojas,  Viage  entretenido,  p.  54,  as  his  authority,  but  Pellicer's 
mistake  was  pointed  out  by  Barrera  {Catdlogo,  p.  493)  nearly  fifty  years 
ago.  Rojas  evidently  meant  that  these  comedias  and  entremeses  formed  the 
repertory  of  Villegas,  not  that  he  wrote  them.  None  of  the  comedias  at- 
tributed by  Pellicer  to  Antonio  de  Villegas  was  written  by  him.  Collar  hasta 
la  Ocasion,  which  Pellicer  ascribes  to  Alonso  de  Cisneros,  was,  according  to 
Barrera,  written  by  Don  Juan  Hurtado  y  Cisneros.  Pellicer  also  mentions 
Caspar  Vazquez,  an  actor  (perhaps  the  lessee  of  the  Corral  del  Principe  in 
1583,  mentioned  below,  p.  41),  who,  in  the  opinion  of  Tamayo  de  Vargas, 
in  his  Biblioteca  manuscrita,  is  the  author  of  a  comedia  entitled  La  CostanKU 
(Alcala  de  Henares,  por  Sebastian  Martinez,  1570). 


THE  CORRAL  DE  LA  CRUZ  33 

merely  a  theatrical  director,  an  impresario.^  We  have  seen 
that,  after  paying  the  autor  and  his  company,  the  average 
net  proceeds  of  a  single  representation  varied,  at  this  early 
period,  from  140  to  200  reals,  which  went  to  the  hospitals 
of  the  city.    It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  in  1583  Philip 

11.  granted  to  the  "Royal  House  of  Incurables"  at  Naples 
half  the  proceeds  derived  from  the  public  performances 
of  comedias  in  that  city.^ 

Performances  in  these  corrales  always  took  place  in  the 
afternoon.  At  first  they  were  limited  to  Sundays  and  feast- 
days,  but  with  the  growing  demand  for  such  spectacles, 
two  representations  were  authorized  during  the  week,  on 
Tuesdays  and  Thursdays,  and  sometimes  they  continued 
for  fifteen  or  twenty  days  before  Shrovetide.  On  Ash 
Wednesday  the  theaters  were  closed  till  Easter,  and  in 
1580  plays  were  not  resumed  until  September  11,  when 
Rivas  began  in  the  Pacheca.^ 

All  representations  took  place  in  these  corrales  until  the 
Cofradias  erected  their  own  permanent  theaters,  the  first. 
one  In  the  Calle  de  la  Cruz  in  1579,  the  other  in  the  Calle 
del  Principe  in  1582.* 

Let  us  turn  now  to  these  permanent  theaters.  A  site 
having  been  purchased  in  the  Calle  de  la  Cruz  on  October 

12,  1579,  for  550  ducats,  the  wood,  benches,  and  other 
properties  were  moved  from  the  corral  of  Cristobal  de  la 
Puente,  and  a  new  theater  was  fitted  up.*^    It  is  interesting 

^Caramuel,  writing  in  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  says: 
"Autor  de  Comedias  apud  Hispanos  non  est  qui  illas  scribit  aut  recitat, 
sed  qui  Comicos  alit  et  singulis  solvit  convenientia  stipendia."  {Rhythmica 
(second  ed.  Campaniae,  1668),  quoted  by  Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  25.) 

*  Croce,  /  Teatri  di  Napoli,  p.  56. 

*  For  details  see  Appendix  A. 

*  Performances  continued  to  take  place  in  the  old  corrales,  however,  for 
some  time  after  the  establishment  of  the  two  permanent  theaters.  There  is 
record  of  a  representation  in  the  Pacheca  in  January,  1583,  and  in  the  Corral 
de  Puente  on  February  18,  1584.    See  Appendix  A. 

'"Martes  8  de  Diciembre  [1579]:— En  este  dia  se  notifico  a  Cristobal  de 
la  Puente,  dueno  del  corral  de  la  Calle  del  Lobo,  que  tienen  alquilado  las 
cofradias,  que  cesaba  este  arrendamiento  y  que  los  asientos,   tablados  y 


34  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

to  note  that  the  building  and  the  expenditures  of  this  new 
theater,  or  Corral  de  la  Cruz,  as  it  was  called,  were  in 
charge  of  Getino  de  Guzman,  who  had  been  the  surety  for 
Cervantes's  mother.  Dona  Leonor  de  Cortinas,  for  his  re- 
demption from  Algerine  captivity.^ 

The  Corral  de  la  Cruz  had  not  yet  been  completed 
when  the  first  comedia  was  represented  therein  on  Sunday, 
November  29,  1579,  by  the  companies  of  Juan  Granado 
and  Jeronimo  de  Galvez.^ 

Though  on  December  8,  1579,  as  we  have  just  seen, 
the  Corral  de  Puente  had  been  stripped  of  its  benches,  etc., 
Cisneros  again  began  to  represent  in  it  on  January  28, 
1580;  and  we  find  him  there  again  on  February  11  and 
18,'  and  according  to  Pellicer*  on  February  i,  1584. 
It  is  clear,  however,  that  the  new  Corral  de  la  Cruz^ 

pertrechos  que  a  costa  de  las  cofradias  se  habian  hccho  en  dicho  corral  se 
trasladarian  al  nuevo  teatro  de  la  calle  de  la  Cruz  ya  por  evltar  gastos  yz 
tambien  porque  Francisco  Salcedo,  que  representaba  en  la  calle  del  Lobo,  se 
ha  ausentado."     (Perez  Pastor,  Bull.  Hispanique,  Jan.,  1906,  p.  75.) 

^  Bull.  Hispanique  (1906),  p.  76.  Cervantes  alludes  to  the  relation  exist- 
ing between  the  theaters  and  the  "Brotherhoods  of  the  Hospitals"  in  his 
Entremes  del  Retablo  de  las  Maravillas,  where  Chanf  alia  says :  " Yo  senores 
mios  soy  Montiel,  el  que  trae  el  retablo  de  las  marauillas;  hanme  embiado 
a  llamar  de  la  Corte  los  senores  cofrades  de  los  hospitales,  porque  no  ay 
autor  de  comedias  en  ella,  y  perecen  los  hospitales,  y  con  mi  yda  se  re- 
mediara  todo."     {Ocho  Comedias,  etc.,  Madrid,  1615,  fol.  244.) 

*  "Yo  Francisco  de  Olea  doy  fee  ...  en  como  hoy  domingo  39  dias  del  raes 
de  Noviembre  de  1579  anos  fue  el  primero  dia  que  se  represent6  en  el  corral 
que  las  cofradias  de  la  Sagrada  Pasion  y  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Soledad  tienen 
en  esta  dicha  villa  en  la  calle  de  la  Cruz,  en  el  qual  asi  mismo  represento 
la  primera  vez  Juan  Granado  y  Galvez,  autores  de  comedias,  esta  ultima 
vez  que  vinieron  a  esta  corte  sin  que  hubiesen  representado  en  el  ni  en  otro 
corral  donde  se  acostumbra  hacer  las  dichas  comedias  otra  vez  desta  postrera 
venida  .  .  .  Francisco  de  Olea."  (Perez  Pastor,  Bull.  Hispanique,  Jan., 
1906,  p.  75.) 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  77,  150.     See  Appendix  A. 

*  Vol.  I,  p.  80. 

*In  1576,  three  years  before  the  building  of  the  Corral  de  la  Cruz,  "the 
first  London  theater  properly  so  called,  the  Theatre,  was  built  by  James 
Burbadge,  one  of  Leicester's  players.  It  was  situate  in  Halliwell  or  Holy 
Well,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Leonard's,  close  to  Finsbury  fields.  In  1577  we 
find  another  theater  called  the  Curtain  erected  close  to  the  Theatre,  both 
being  in  the  same  fields."  (Fieay,  Chronicle  History  of  the  London  Stage, 
p.   37.)      "When   Shakespeare   came  to  London    (1586?)    there   were   two 


THE  CORRAL  DEL  PRINCIPE  35 

and  the  Corral  de  la  Pacheca  now  became  the  favor- 
ite playhouses,  and  were  leased  by  the  most  famous 
autores:  Ganassa,  Galvez,  Granado,  Saldana,  Jeronimo 
Velazquez,  Cisneros,  Alonso  Rodriguez,  Salcedo,  and 
others.  On  October  29,  1580,  all  representations  in 
Madrid  were  suspended  on  account  of  the  death  of  the 
Queen,  Dofia  Ana,  and  the  theaters  were  closed  until 
November  30,  1581,  when  Ganassa  and  his  Italian  players 
again  appeared  at  the  Corral  de  la  Cruz.^ 

The  success  of  the  Corral  de  la  Cruz  and  the  desire  to 
be  relieved  of  the  rent  which  they  were  paying  for  the 
Corral  de  la  Pacheca  induced  the  Cofradia  de  la  Soledad  y 
Niiios  expositos,  in  1582  (February  19),  to  buy  a  number 

theaters  in  London  and  its  suburbs:  the  Theatre  and  the  Curtain,  both  in 
Shoreditch.  In  February,  1592,  a  third  playhouse,  the  Rose,  was  opened  by 
the  manager  Philip  Henslowe.  It  was  situated  on  the  Bankside  in  South- 
wark  and  was  doubtless  the  scene  of  Shakespeare's  pronounced  success  alike 
as  an  actor  and  dramatist.  In  1594  he  [Shakespeare]  was  connected  with 
another  theater  at  Newington  Butts  [see  now  Greg,  in  Hensloive's  Diary, 
II,  pp.  72  and  85];  and  later  (1595-1599)  he  returned  to  the  Theatre  and 
Curtain.  The  latter  playhouse  was  kept  up  till  after  his  death,  but  the 
Theatre  was  torn  down  in  1599,  and  most  of  the  materials  were  used  by  the 
Burbadges  in  the  erection  of  the  Globe  on  the  Bankside.  From  the  opening 
of  this  theater  until  Shakespeare  gave  up  acting,  it  appears  to  have  been  the 
only  one  [with  the  Blackfriars']  with  which  he  was  regularly  connected. 
The  Blackfriars  theater,  originally  a  dwelling-house  converted  into  a  theater 
by  James  Burbadge  in  1596,  was  in  the  City,  not  far  from  the  northern 
end  of  Blackfriars  bridge.  The  Times  building  is  now  on  this  site." 
(Collier,  Works  of  Shakespeare,  Vol.  I,  p.  80.)  Between  July  22,  1596,  and 
April  17,  1597,  Romeo  and  Juliet  was  acted  at  the  Curtain  by  the  company 
known  as  Lord  Hunsdou's  servants.  (See  Ordish,  The  London  Theatres, 
p.  100.)  According  to  the  same  writer  Shakespeare's  Henry  V.  was  first 
performed  at  the  Curtain  in  1599,  "presumably  by  the  Burbadge-Shake- 
speare  company."  (Ibid.,  p.  84.)  Ordish  says  that  after  the  accession  of 
James  I.,  in  1603,  the  Chamberlain's  company — which  Shakespeare  had 
joined  before  Christmas,  1594  {ibid.,  p.  169) — acted  only  at  the  Globe  and 
at  the  Blackfriars.  (Ibid.,  p.  103.)  Greg  suggests  that  Shakespeare  may 
have  been  a  member  of  Lord  Strange's  company  (which  became  the  servants 
of  Baron  Hunsdon,  Lord  Chamberlain,  after  the  death  of  Lord  Strange, 
then  Earl  of  Derby,  in  1594)  as  early  as  April,  1593,  though  Shakespeare's 
name  does  not  occur  in  the  list  of  the  company,  as  he  was  not  a  shareholder. 
{Hensloive's  Diary,  Vol.  II,  p.  74.) 

^"30  Noviembre  1581. — Ganasa  represento  en  la  Cruz  y  fue  el  primer  dia 
que  hubo  comedia  despues  de  la  muerte  de  la  reina  Ana.  *Y  de  todo  el 
aprovechamiento  de  la  comedia,  sin  la  representacion  [i.e.,  the  rental  paid  by 


36  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

of  houses  near  the  latter  corral,  in  the  Calle  del  Principe, 
for  which  they  paid  the  owner,  Dr.  Alaba  de  Ibarra, 
physician  to  Philip  II.,  the  sum  of  800  ducats.^  Here 
they  built  a  theater  after  the  pattern  of  the  Corral 
de  la  Cruz:  this  was  the  Corral  del  Principe,  which,  with 
th^  Corral  de  la  Cruz,  were,  after  1584,1116  only  public 
theaters  of  Madrid.^  Their  glory,  in  the  annals  of  the 
modern  drama,  is  surpassed  only  by  the  Globe  zn^  Black- 
friars  in  London.  And  it  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  the 
dr^atic  careers  of  the  great  creators  of  the  English  and 
Spanish  dramas  began  at  about  the  same  time.  Lope  de 
Vega,  born  in  1562,  began  to  write  for  the  public  stage 
about  1585.  Shakespeare,  born  in  1564,  came  to  London 
inT5"86(?),  and  became  attached  to  one  of  the  theaters. 
Each  rose  to  the  topmost  height  in  the  dramatic  art  of  his 
country,  and  while  the  wide  gulf  that  separates  Shake- 
speare from  his  contemporaries  does  not  exist  in  the  case 
of  Lope  de  Vega,  the  superiority  of  the  latter  among  the 
dramatists  of  his  own  country  is  now  undisputed.  Lope  de 
Vega  had  his  Sessa,  and  Shakespeare  his  Southampton,  yet 
neither  ever  received  aid  or  encouragement   from  his 

the  players],  se  allegaron  doscientos  y  sesenta  reales  y  medio  de  que  cupo  a 
la  cofradia  de  la  Soledad  de  la  tercia  parte  que  Ileva  noventa  reales  y  cinco 
maravedis,  y  a  la  Paslon  le  cupo  de  sus  dos  tercias  partes  ciento  y  ochenta 
reales  y  doce  maravedis.'  "    (Perez  Pastor,  Bull.  Hispanique  (1906),  p.  148.) 

*  "Escritura  de  venta  de  dos  pares  de  casas  y  corrales  otorgada  por  el 
D'  Alava  de  Ibarra,  medico  de  S.  M.,  por  si  y  como  legitimo  adminis- 
trador  de  su  hijo  D.  Juan,  en  favor  de  los  diputados  de  la  cofradia  de  N* 
S«  de  la  Soledad  y  Ninos  expositos,  en  la  calle  del  Principe,  por  precio  de 
800  ducados.  Madrid,  19  Febrero  1582.— Venta  de  las  dos  tercias  partes 
de  las  casas  de  la  calle  del  Principe  que  fueron  del  D*"  Alava  de  Ibarra 
otorgada  en  favor  de  los  diputados  de  la  cofradia  de  la  Pasi6n  por  los 
de  la  cofradia  de  la  Soledad  y  Ninos  expositos  en  precio  de  200,000  mara- 
vedises.    Madrid,  10  Marzo  1582."     {Ibid.,  p.  152.) 

'  I  prefer  to  use  the  term  Corral  del  Principe  and  not  Teatro,  because 
Corral  was  the  only  term  applied  to  these  theaters  for  many  years  after 
their  foundation.  Antonio  Armona,  in  his  Memorias  cronologicas,  a 
manuscript  in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional  at  Madrid,  says  that  these  buildings 
began  to  be  called  teatros  in  1608.  They  were  still  called  corrales  in 
1611  {Bull.  Hisp.  (1907),  p.  376)  and  certainly  as  late  as  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth  century,     (Pellicer,  Vol.  I,  p.  108.) 


SHAKESPEARE  AND  LOPE  37 

sovereign.  There  is  no  proof  at  hand  of  personal  patron- 
age extended  to  Shakespeare  by  either  Elizabeth  or 
James/  nor  did  Philip  the  Third  or  Philip  the  Fourth  be- 
stow any  favor  upon  Lope.^  Neither  poet  seems  to  have 
been  mindful  of  the  glory  he  had  reaped  In  the  field  of  the 
drama,  while  each  took  a  peculiar  pride  in  his  other 
poetical  compositions.  Shakespeare  polished  the  verse  of 
his  Venus  and  Adonis  and  his  Rape  of  Lucrece,  and  Lope 
laid  the  last  file  on  his  epics  and  sonnets,  while  both 
strangely  neglected  those  works  which  have  since  been  the 
delight  of  mankind.  Lope's  achievement  in  the  drama 
was  too  stupendously  vast  to  receive  much  pruning  or 
revision  at  his  hands,  while  Shakespeare  never  troubled 
himself  about  the  fate  of  his  plays  after  they  were  once 
in  print.  I  cannot  forbear  quoting  the  words  of  Collier  in 
this  regard:  "Shakespeare  probably  superintended  the 
passage  through  the  press  of  his  two  poems,  Venus  and 
Adonis  and  Lucrece,  but  It  is  our  conviction  that,  as  far 
as  regards  any  of  his  plays,  he  never  corrected  a  line  of 
them  after  they  were  in  type.  Even  with  respect  to  the 
two  dramas  that  with  most  show  of  probability  may  be 
said  to  have  been  published  entire.  In  order  to  check  the 
sale  of  Imperfect,  mutilated,  and  surreptitious  copies — 
Romeo  and  Juliet  and  Hamlet — we  feel  persuaded  that 
their  author  was  in  no  way  instrumental  in  the  issue  of  the 
more  authentic  copies.  .  .  .  After  his  plays  had  answered 
their  purpose  on  the  stage,  he  seems  to  have  been  utterly 
reckless  of  their  fate."  ^ 

*Ward,  History  of  English  Dramatic  Literature,  London,  1899,  Vol.  I, 
P-  501- 

'  This  statement  must  be  mildly  qualified  in  view  of  a  document  recently 
published  by  Dr.  Cristobal  Perez  Pastor,  Bulletin  Hispanique  (1908),  p.  253  : 
"Ordenareis  que  se  paguen  a  Lope  de  Vega  Carpio  ciento  y  cincuenta 
ducados  de  que  la  Reyna  Nuestra  Senora  le  hizo  merced  por  el  servicio  que 
le  hizo  de  la  comedia  de  El  Velloctno  dorado,  y  esto  se  pagara  por  donde  se 
acostumbran  pagar  cosas  deste  genero.  Dios  guarde  al  Sr.  Contralor. 
Madrid,  3  de  Noviembre  1626. — El  duque  y  conde  de  Benavente.  (Arch. 
de  Palacio. — Espectaculos  publicos  y  privados.)"  But  even  here  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  sum  was  granted  by  Philip  the  Fourth's  young  queen. 

*  Memoirs  of  Actors,  pp.  66,  67. 


38  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

"If  any  one  should  cavil  about  my  comedias  and  think 
that  I  wrote  them  for  fame,  undeceive  him  and  tell  him 
that  I  wrote  them  for  money."  ^  So  wrote  Lope  in  the 
autumn  of  1 604.  From  all  that  we  know  of  Shakespeare, 
it  is  clear  that  his  plays  also  were  written  merely  for 
money,  and  that  for  him  they  had  no  further  interest  save 
the  profit  to  be  derived  from  them.  Lope  de  Vega,  indeed, 
in  his  later  years,  when  he  realized  that  his  chief  claim  to 
be  remembered  by  posterity  lay  in  his  comedias,  did  make 
an  attempt  to  correct  his  plays  for  the  press,  and  beginning 
with  Part  IX  (1617),  they  were  printed  under  his  super- 
vision.^ 

On  the  other  hand,  Shakespeare's  indifference  to  the 
fate  of  his  plays  continued  till  the  end  of  his  life.  The 
Tempest  was  probably  the  latest  drama  that  he  completed, 
and  it  was  written,  as  it  appears,  early  in  161 1 — at  all 
events,  it  was  well  known  in  the  autumn  of  that  year. 
Moreover,  Lee  says:  "While  there  is  every  indication  that 
in  161 1  Shakespeare  abandoned  dramatic  composition, 
there  seems  little  doubt  that  he  left  with  the  manager  of 
his  company  unfinished  drafts  of  more  than  one  play  which 
others  were  summoned  at  a  later  date  to  complete.  His 
place  at  the  head  of  the  active  dramatists  was  at  once  filled 
by  John  Fletcher,  and  Fletcher,  with  some  aid  possibly 
from  his  friend  Philip  Massinger,  undertook  the  working 
up  of  Shakespeare's  unfinished  sketches."^ 

Shakespeare  lived  five  years  after  this  date,  in  retire- 
ment at  Stratford.  We  are  told  that  until  16 14  he  made 
frequent  visits  to  London,  but  he  does  not  seem  to  have 
had  sufficient  regard  for  his  plays  to  revise  and  correct 
them.  He  continued  to  draw  his  income  from  them,  and 
in  his  quiet  days  at  "New  Place"  his  thoughts  must  often 

*  See  my  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  Glasgow,  1904,  p.  154,  note. 
'  In  the  following  year,  in  Part  XI  of  his  Comedias,  Lope  gives  the  num- 
ber of  plays  he  had  then  written  as  eight  hundred. 
'  Sidney  Lee,  Shakespeare's  Life  and  fVork,  p.  135. 


THE  ACTOR  AND  THE  PRIEST  39 

have  reverted  to  the  scenes  of  his  great  dramatic  tri- 
umphs, yet  he  allowed  the  plays  on  which  his  great  fame 
rests  to  go  through  the  world,  not  in  the  perfection  in 
which  they  issued  from  his  pen,  but  lame  and  halt  and 
disfigured,  as  chance  might  change  and  shape  them,  re- 
gardless of  their  fate.^  So  there  is  some  justification,  it 
would  seem,  for  Pope's  couplet  on  Shakespeare : 

For  gain,  not  glory,  wing'd  his  roving  flight, 
And  grew  immortal  in  his  own  despitr. 

While  it  has  not  been  without  interest,  perhaps,  to  thus 
point  out  coincidences  and  parallels  in  the  careers  of  the 
two  greatest  dramatic  geniuses  of  the  modern  stage,  the 
comparison  closes  with  a  contrast.  Loge^de  Vega  was  a 
priest,  Shakespeare  an  actor,— almost  the  two  extremes  of 
the  social  scale  in  their  day.  Lope  was  the  lion  of  Madrid, 
the  "Phenix  of  Spain,"  whose  fame  had  spread  far  and 
wide,  and  whom  men  came  from  distant  lands  to  see. 
Shakespeare  enjoyed  no  such  renown  among  his  fellow- 
countrymen.  In  the  fullness  of  his  powers,  at  the  age  of 
forty-seven,  he  withdrew  from  the  theater,  well  provided 
with  the  goods  of  this  world,  to  lead  a  life  of  ease  and 
retirem.ent  in  the  quiet  of  his  birthplace.  Lope  remained 
in  harness,  a  veteran  of  seventy-three,  battling  till  the  end, 
on  the  scene  of  his  early  triumphs.  His,,gen€rou§_hospi- 
tality,  his  unstinted  charity,  kept  his  purse-strings  ever 
open,  and  the  last  years  of  his  life  found  him  often  de- 
pendent upon  his  patron  for  the  necessities  of  his  humble 
household. 

In  1582,  as  we  have  seen,  the  second  of  the  famous  thea- 
ters of  Madrid— the  Corral  del  Principe— wz.^  erected  in 

*  "He  allowed  most  mangled  and  deformed  copies  of  several  of  his  great- 
est works  to  be  circulated  for  many  years,  and  did  not  think  it  worth  while 
to  expose  the  fraud,  which  remained  in  several  cases  undetected,  as  far  as 
the  great  body  of  the  public  was  concerned,  until  the  appearance  of  the 
folio  of  1623."     (Collier,  Shakespeare's  fVorks,  Vol.  I,  p.  142.) 


40  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

the  Calle  del  Principe.  The  deputies  of  the  brotherhoods 
seem  to  have  proceeded  with  great  circumspection  in  the 
building  of  this  new  theater.  An  expense-book  was  kept, 
and  the  work  was  begun  on  Monday,  May  7,  1582.  Of 
these  building  expenses  the  Cofradia  de  la  Pasion  paid 
two  thirds  and  the  Soledad  one  third,  just  as  they  shared 
the  profits,  the  former  contributing  200  ducats  and  the 
fatter  100  ducats  toward  the  expense.  Pellicer  gives  the 
following  description  of  the  theater:  "A  platform  or  stage 
was  built,  a  green-room,  raised  seats  {gradas)  for  the 
men,  portable  benches  to  the  number  of  ninety-five,  a 
gallery  for  the  women,  stalls  and  windows  with  iron  grat- 
ings, passageways,  and  a  roof  to  cover  the  gradas.  Finally 
the  patio  was  paved  and  an  awning  was  stretched  over  it 
which  protected  against  the  sun,  but  not  against  the  rain." 
Four  stairways  were  also  erected,  "one  to  ascend  to  the 
women's  gallery,  with  its  balustrade  of  brick  and  plaster, 
its  wooden  steps  and  its  partitions  of  plaster  around  the 
lower  part,  and  the  same  above,  so  that  the  women  who 
went  up  the  said  stairway  and  were  in  the  balcony  could 
not  communicate  with  the  men,"  etc.^  In  addition  three 
other  stairways  were  built,  "ascending  to  the  seats  of  the 
men  [in  the  galleries?]  and  to  the  green-room  {vestua- 
rio),^  and  also  a  stall  or  box  in  the  corral,  whereby 
women  entered  to  a  window  which  looked  upon  the  stage." 

^  Andres  Aguado  [the  builder  of  the  theater]  "se  obligo  a  hacer  quatro 
escaleras,  una  para  subir  al  corredor  de  las  mugeres,  con  sus  pasamanos  de 
ladrillo  y  yeso,  y  sus  peldaiios  de  madera  labrados,  y  sus  cerramientos  al 
rededor  de  yeso  por  la  parte  de  abaxo,  y  por  la  de  arriba  ni  mas  ni  menos, 
de  manera  que  las  mugeres  que  subiesen  por  la  dicha  escalera  y  estuviesen 
en  el  dicho  corredor,  no  se  puedan  comunicar  con  los  hombres:  y  de  la 
mesma  manera  otras  tres  por  donde  se  sube  i.  los  asientos  de  los  hombres  y 
al  vestuario:  y  asimesmo  un  aposento  en  el  Corral  por  donde  entran  las 
mugeres  para  una  ventana  que  cae  al  dicho  Teatro  .  .  .  y  un  tejado  a  dos 
aguas  encima  de  la  dicha  ventana  hasta  el  caballete  del  tejado  del  aposento 
de  la  calle."     {Traiado  Historico,  Vol.  I,  p.  68.) 

*  From  this  it  appears  that  the  green-room  was  on  the  floor  above  the 
stage.  If  this  were  so,  a  change  must  have  been  made  later,  for  an  exam- 
ination of  the  comedias  of  Lope  de  Vega  shows  that  the  vestuario  must 
have  been  at  the  back  of  the  stage  and  on  both  sides  of  it,  i.e.,  on  the  same 


THE  CORRAL  DEL  PRINCIPE  41 

So  impatient  was  tlie  public  for  these  spectacles  that  the 
theater  was  opened  before  its  completion,  on  September 
21,15  83,  when  [Antonio  ?]  Vazquez  and  Juan  de  Avila  rep- 
resented therein.^  The  proceeds  of  this  performance,  in- 
cluding the  ten  reals  paid  by  the  players  for  the  rent  of  the 
theater  for  that  day,  amounted  to  seventy  reals,"for  neither 
the  gradas,  nor  the  ventanas,  nor  the  corredor  were  yet 
finished."  {Ibid.,  p.  69.)  Adjoining  the  Corral  del  Prin- 
cipe on  one  side  was  the  house  of  Dona  Juana  Gonzalez 
Carpio,  afterward  the  wife  of  Francisco  Alegria,  one  of 
the  lessees  of  the  theaters  of  the  city.  To  Dona  Juana  the 
brotherhoods  paid  one  hundred  ducats  annually  for  allow- 
ing a  passage  to  be  made  through  her  house  for  a  women's 
entrance  to  the  theater.  Payment  was  made  by  giving  her 
two  aposentos,  one  in  the  Cruz  and  one  in  the  Principe."^ 

The  proceeds  of  a  single  representation  at  this  time 
generally  amounted  to  about  three  hundred  reals,  after 
deducting  expenses.  Seeing  the  large  pecuniary  gains  de- 
rived by  the  two  fraternities  from  the  theaters,  the  Council 
of  Castile  in  December,  1583,  decreed  that  the  General 
Hospital  of  Madrid  should  henceforth  have  a  share  in  the 
proceeds.  Besides  the  charge  for  admission  to  the  theater 
or  corrales,  the  privileges  for  the  sale  of  water,  fruit, 
aloja,  and  confections  were  an  additional  source  of  income 
to  the  fraternities.^ 

Schack^  gives  the  following  description  of  the  corrales 
or  theaters  of  that  time : 

floor.  See  my  article  "On  the  Staging  of  Lope  de  Vega's  Comedias,"  in 
the  Revue  Hispanique,  1907.  Concerning  the  Coliseo  of  Seville,  Sr. 
Sanchez-Arjona  (p.  152)  says:  "En  su  origen  el  vestuario  del  Coliseo 
estaba  lindando  con  la  casa  de  D.  Diego  Davalos,  y  las  puertas  que  daban 
paso  i  los  espectadores  muy  proximas  al  tablado  y  vestuario." 

*  Pellicer,  Vol.  I,  p.  69. 
'Ibid.,  p.  70. 

'  The  privilege  of  selling  water,  fruit,  etc.,  in  the  two  theaters  of  La  Cruz 
and  El  Principe  was  granted  to  Francisco  Briceno  on  March  23,  1587;  he 
paying  on  each  day  that  a  comedia  was  acted  five  reals  for  each  theater, 
until  St.  Michael's  day  of  the  said  year.     (Pellicer,  Vol.  I,  p.  8a.) 

*  Geschichte,  etc.,  Vol.  I,  p.  369. 


42  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

The  corrales  were,  as  we  have  said,  court-yards  where  the  backs 
of  several  houses  came  together.  The  windows  (ventanas)  of  the 
surrounding  houses — provided,  as  is  the  Spanish  custom,  with  iron 
railings  or  latticework,  and  then  called  rejas  or  celosias — served  as 
boxes  or  stalls ;  a  much  larger  number  of  these  windows  than  origi- 
nally existed  in  the  buildings  were  especially  constructed  for  this 
purpose.  If  these  boxes  were  situated  in  the  upper  stories,  they 
were  called  desvanes  (attics)  ;  the  lowest  row  of  windows  above  the 
ground,  however,  were  called  aposentos,  a  name  that,  in  a  wider 
sense,  seems  also  to  have  been  applied  to  the  desvanes.  These 
aposentos  (apartments  or  rooms)  were  really  spacious  rooms,  as 
the  name  implies.  The  windows  were,  like  the  houses  to  which 
they  belonged,  sometimes  the  property  of  others,  and  if  not  rented 
by  the  fraternities,  were  entirely  at  the  disposition  of  their  owners, 
who,  however,  had  to  pay  annually  a  specified  sum  for  the  privilege 
of  seeing  the  plays  from  them.^  Beneath  the  aposentos  was  a  row 
of  seats,  raised  like  an  amphitheater,  and  called  gradas;  in  front  of 
these  was  the  patio,  a  larger  open  space  whence  the  vulgo  saw  the  play 
standing.  In  front  of  the  patio,  and  nearest  the  stage,  stood  rows 
of  benches  called  bancos,  presumably  also  under  the  open  sky,  like 

*  In  1635  permission  was  given  to  Don  Rodrigo  de  Herrera  to  open  a 
window  looking  into  the  Corral  del  Principe,  he  paying  to  the  lessees  of 
the  theater  the  sum  of  thirty  ducats  (330  reales  vellon)  annually.  (Pellicer, 
Vol.  I,  p.  70;  Sepulveda,  El  Corral  de  la  Pacheca,  p.  89.)  This  privilege 
was  also  granted  in  the  same  year  to  Don  Pedro  de  Aragon,  who,  having 
purchased  in  the  Calle  del  Principe  a  house  which  already  had  two  apo- 
sentos looking  upon  the  Corral  de  las  Comedias,  wished  to  open  another 
window  between  the  two.  (Sepulveda,  p.  90.)  This  notice  is  interesting 
in  view  of  a  picture  published  by  Sepulveda  (p.  18),  representing  the 
Teatro  del  Principe  in  1660.  I  do  not  know  the  provenance  of  this  picture, 
but  it  corresponds  in  every  detail  to  the  description  in  the  text  as  given  by 
Schack.  It  represents  a  rectangular  space  inclosed  on  the  two  longer  sides 
by  houses  with  grated  windows,  and  with  a  raised  stage  occupying  the 
further  end.  The  whole  space  is  open  to  the  sky,  except  the  portion  over 
the  stage  and  extending  some  distance  beyond  it,  which  is  covered  by  a 
canvas  awning.  In  the  middle  space  or  pit  are  a  number  of  benches,  which 
cover  about  half  the  ground  immediately  in  front  of  the  stage.  The  rest 
of  the  open  space  or  patio  is  free,  and  is  the  place  from  which  the  ground- 
lings or  mosqueteros  saw  the  play,  while  standing.  On  the  left,  beginning 
level  with  the  ground,  are  rows  of  terraced  seats — the  gradas  mentioned 
above.  These  are  protected  by  a  small  roof  supported  by  pillars.  These 
seats  were  partitioned  off  from  the  pit.  The  stage  seems  to  have  had  a 
slightly  projecting  roof.  Of  course  the  women's  gallery  (cazuela)  does 
not  appear  in  the  picture. 


GANASSA  AND  THE  ITALIANS  43 

the  patio,  or  protected  only  by  a  canvas  covering.  The  gradas  were 
under  a  projecting  roof  at  the  sides.  In  the  rear  of  the  corrales, 
i.e.,  in  the  part  furthest  from  the  stage,  was  the  gallery  set  apart 
for  women,  especially  of  the  lower  classes,  and  called  the  cazuela 
or  stewpan,  also  called  corredores  de  las  mugeres  or  gallery  for 
women.  The  more  refined  women  patronized  the  aposentos  or 
desvanes.'^ 

Women  were,  apparently,  no  less  eager  to  see  a  comedia 
than  men,  and  when  Jeronimo  Velazquez,  in  February, 
158.6,  determined  to  give  a  morning  performance  for 
women  only,  no  less  than  seven  hundred  and  sixty  flocked 
to  the  theater,  but  on  hearing  of  this  the  Council  of  Castile 
stopped  the  performance  and  confiscated  the  proceeds  for 
the  benefit  of  the  hospitals. 

We  have  seen  above  (p.  33,  n.  4)  that  representations 
continued  in  the  older  corrales  even  after  the  new  theaters 
— the  Cruz  in  1579,  and  the  Principe  m  1583 — had  been 
opened.  On  February  i,  1584,  according  to  Pellicer,^ 
Saldana  performed  in  the  Corral  de  Puente,  Cisneros 
in  the  Cruz,  and  Ganassa  in  the  Corral  del  Principe,  and 
on  Sunday,  February  5,  Ganassa  appeared  in  the  Principe, 
Velazquez  in  the  Cruz,  and  Cisneros  in  the  Corral  de 
Puente.  It  seems  to  result  from  a  document  published  by 
Pellicer^  that  before  1587  all  the  other  corrales  had 
passed  out  of  existence,  except  the  Corral  de  la  Cruz  and 
the  Corral  del  Principe.  The  success  of  Ganassa  and  his 
Italian  company,  to  which  we  have  already  alluded,  doubt- 
less induced  other  Italian  players  to  visit  Spain.  Ganassa 
had  appeared  in  the  Corral  de  la  Cruz  on  February  23, 

^Malone,  speaking  of  the  London  theaters,  says:  "What  was  called  the 
pit  in  the  private  theaters,  like  the  one  in  Blackfriars,  was  called  the  yard 
in  the  public  ones,  as  the  Globe.  The  former  theaters  were  inclosed  by  a 
roof,  and  the  latter  were  open,  except  the  stage,  which  was  covered  by  a 
thatched  roof.  In  the  pit  were  benches  for  the  spectators,  while  in  the  yards 
the  groundlings  stood."  {Historical  Account  of  the  English  Stage.  See 
also  Collier,  Annals  of  the  Stage,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  335.) 

'  Vol.  I,  p.  80. 

*Ibid.,^.%i. 


44  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

1582.  Four  days  afterward,  on  February  27,  we  find  a 
notice  that  Ganassa  did  not  represent  because  he  had  been 
put  in  prison.^  On  June  29,  1582,  we  find  that  "an  Italian 
performed  acrobatic  feats  in  the  Pacheca  and  continued 
performing  with  his  tumblers  until  St.  James'  day,"  and  on 
August  24,  1582,  los  Italianos  nuevos  represented  a 
comedia  at  the  Pacheca.^  They  again  appeared  on  Sep- 
tember 29  and  30,  on  October  17  and  18,  and  on  Novem- 
ber I.  From  the  fact  that  they  are  called  "the  new  Ital- 
ians," it  is  very  probable  that  this  company  was  not 
Ganassa's.  In  1587  and  1588  we  find  another  company 
of  Italian  actors  in  Madrid  (or  was  it  the  company  of 
1582?)  under  the  management  of  the  brothers  Tristano 
and  Drusiano  Martinelli.^  This  is  undoubtedly  the  Italian 
company  that  was  performing  at  the  Corral  del  Principe 
in  November  and  December,  1587,  and  for  some  time 
thereafter.  Lope  de  Vega  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  this 
time  to  these  plays  by  the  "Italians,"  or  the  "Comedia  of 
the  Harlequin."* 

It  is,  moreover,  very  probable  that  in  his  early  career  as 
a  dramatist  Lope  was  much  influenced  by  the  commedie 
dell'  arte  which  he  saw  represented  by  these  Italian 
companies.  The  name  of  the  male  lover  in  these  com- 
medie, Fulvio,  Valerio,  Ottavio,  Leandro,  Fabricio,  Cin- 
thio,   etc.,   and  of  the   female  lover,   la  comica  accesa, 

^  See  Appendix  A. 

*  It  is  not  likely  that  two  companies  of  Italians  were  acting  in  Madrid  at 
the  same  time,  and  I  presume  that  these  Italianos  nuevos  were  the  same 
as  the  company  called  Los  Corteses  (/  Cortesi),  who  represented  in  the 
Pacheca  on  August  26,  1582,  and  again  on  September  2,  8,  9,  i6,  21,  23,  29, 
and  30,  and  at  various  times  down  to  November  15  of  the  same  year. 
{Bulletin  Hispanique  (1906),  p.  152.    See  Appendix  A,  under  year  1582.) 

*  D'Ancona,  Origini  del  Teatro  Italiano,  Vol.  II,  p.  479.  Drusiano  Mar- 
tinelli  was  in  England  with  a  company  of  players  in  1577.  Collier  says: 
"There  was  an  Italian  commediante  named  Drousiano,  and  his  company, 
in  London,  in  January,  1577-78.  The  nature  of  their  performances  is  not 
anywhere  stated,  but  it  is  possible  that  they  might  represent  some  extem- 
pore comedies."     {Annals  of  the  Stage,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  398,  note.) 

*  Rennert,  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  pp.  27  ff.  Drusiano  Martinelli  was  a 
famous  Arlecchino.     (See  D'Ancona,  Origini  del  Teatro  Italiano,  Vol.  II, 


LA  COM  MEDIA  DELL'  ARTE  45 

Isabella,  Lucinda,  Leonora,  etc.,  we  find  very  frequently  in 
the^omedias  of  Lope.  Besides,  there  is  much  similarity  in v 
the  situations  in  many  of  Lope's  comedias  de  capa  y  espada,T 
or  comedies  of  intrigue,  and  the  ordinary  commedia  dell' 
arte.  In  the  latter  they  recur  from  piece  to  piece  with  in- 
considerable changes,  each  with  the  same  mistakes,  the 
same  quarrels,  the  same  night  scenes,  where  one  person  is 
taken  for  another  in  the  darkness;  the  same  misunder- 
standings— scene  equivoche,^  etc. 

Lope  de  Vega,  seeing  these  plays  almost  daily,  at  the 
very  beginning  of  his  dramatic  career,  could  hardly  have 
failed  to  be  influenced  by  them.  Indeed,  Clemencin  re- 
marks that  the  comic  figure,  Trastulo,  in  these  farces  of 
the  Italians  may  have  suggested  to  Lope  the  character  of 
the  gracioso.^ 

One  of  the  members  of  Martinelli's  company  whom 
Lope  saw  in  1587  was  undoubtedly  the  "Madama  An- 
gelica," wife  of  Drusiano,  a  celebrated  actress  and  at  that 
time  a  member  of  the  company  called  /  Confidenti.^  In  a 
letter  of  Drusiano  Martinelli,  published  by  D'Ancona,*  he 

p.  497,  and  Scherillo,  La  Commedia  dell*  Arte,  in  La  Vita  Italiana  net 
Seicento.    Milano,  1895,  p.  475.) 
^  See  Mantzius,  History  of  Theatrical  Art,  Vol.  II,  p.  228. 

*  Cervantes,  Don  Quixote,  ed.  Clemencin,  Madrid,  1833,  Vol.  IV,  p.  126, 
note.  See  also  his  very  interesting  note  on  the  bobo  of  the  comedia,  ibid., 
p.  64.  That  Lope  de  Vega  was  an  assiduous  visitor  of  the  theater,  care- 
fully observing  the  striking  situations,  is  also  asserted  by  Ricardo  de 
Turia  in  his  Apologetico  de  las  Comedias  Espanolas,  prefixed  to  the  Norte 
de  la  Poesia  espanola,  Valencia,  161 6.  He  says:  "El  Principe  de  los  Poetas 
Comicos  de  nuestros  tiempos,  y  aun  de  los  pasados,  el  famoso  y  nunca 
bien  celebrado  Lope  de  Vega,  suele  oyendo  asi  Comedias  suyas  como  agenas, 
aduertir  los  pasos  que  hazen  marauilla  y  grangean  aplauso;  y  aquellos 
aunque  scan  impropios  imita  en  todo,  buscandose  ocasiones  en  nueuas  Co- 
medias, que  como  de  fuente  perenne  nacen  incesablemente  de  su  fertilissimo 
ingenio,"  etc. 

'  See  below,  p.  143.  That  both  Drusiano  and  Tristano  Martinelli  were 
in  Spain  in  this  and  the  following  year  is  shown  by  a  letter  which  the 
former  wrote  to  his  mother,  dated  August  18,  1588,  in  which  he  says: 
"Staremo  tutto  quest'  anno  qui  in  Spagna."  (Rasi,  /  Comici  Italiani, 
Firenze,  1897,  Vol.  II,  p.  104.)  For  his  wife  Angela  or  Angelica,  see  also 
ibid.,  p.  16. 

*  Origini  del  Teatro  Italiano,  Vol.  II,  p.  479. 


46  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

signs  himself  "husband  of  M?  Angelica,"  and  from  an- 
other letter^  it  appears  that  M?  Angelica  was  quite  as  frail 
as  most  of  her  sister-actresses.  In  a  document  of  1587^ 
her  name  is  given  as  Angela  Martineli ;  she,  Angela  Salo- 
mona,  and  La  Francesquina  (Silvia  Roncagli)  seem  to 
have  been  the  only  women  then  in  the  company  of  the 
Confidenti.^ 

*  Origini  del  Teatro  Italiano,  Vol.  II,  p.  523. 

*  See  below,  p.  143. 

'Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  21.     This  company  had  been  in  Paris 
in  1584-85.     (Moland,  Moliire  et  la  Comidie  Italienne,  p.  41.) 


CHAPTER  III 

The  corrales  of  Seville.    Las  Atarazanas.    La  Alcoba.    San  Pedro. 
The  Huerta  de  Doha  Elvira.    The  Coliseo.    La  Monteria. 

Turning  now  to  another  city,  to  Seville,  we  find  more 
detailed  information  concerning  the  public  theaters  or 
corrales  than  was  available  in  the  case  of  Madrid.  In 
Seville,  as  already  noted,  corrales  seem  to  have  been  estab- 
lished at  about  the  same  time  that  we  first  find  them  in 
Madrid.  The  Corral  de  Don  Juan  was  in  existence  as 
early  as  1575 ;  here  the  Italian  Ganassa  performed  in  that 
year,  "and  those  who  went  to  see  the  comedias  of  Ganassa 
in  the  Corral  de  Don  Juan  paid  an  entrance  fee  of  half  a 
real;  a  real  for  each  chair  (silla)  and  a  cuartillo  (=54 
real)  for  each  seat  on  the  bancos."^  In  1578  the  Corral 
de  las  Atarazanas  was  built,  followed  by  that  of  the  Huerta 
de  la  Alcoba  and  the  San  Pedro  (the  latter  apparently 
ceased  to  exist  after  1610),  besides  one  mentioned  by 
Rodrigo  Caro,  which  was  in  the  Collacion  de  San  Vicente, 
and  lastly,  and  perhaps  the  most  famous  of  all,  that  of 
Dona  Elvira.^    During  the  seventeenth  century  two  others 

^  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales  del  Teatro  en  Sevilla,  1898,  p.  51.  From  this 
work  the  account  in  this  chapter  is  taken. 

"There  were  other  corrales  in  Seville  besides  those  here  mentioned,  ac- 
cording to  Sanchez-Arjona.  "Mateo  de  Salcedo  y  Juan  Cano  arrendaron 
en  1600  unas  casas  que  hubieron  de  servir  de  posada  para  los  comediantes, 
y  en  cuyo  patio  hicieron  un  teatro  con  algunos  aposentos  de  tablas,  'sin 
otra  mezcla  que  la  trabazon,'  y  los  autores  que  venian  a  Sevilla  'negociaban 
representar  sus  comedias  en  el  dicho  teatro  y  casa  de  Salcedo,  sin  haber 
habido  otra  licencia  de  la  Ciudad.'  "  Besides  this  corral  there  were  "las 
casas  del  coliseo  del  Duque  de  Medina  Sidonia  (situadas  en  la  plaza  del 
Duque)"  and  "el  corral  de  San  Pablo,  proximo  sin  duda  al  convento  de 
este  nombre,  de  cuyos  corrales  no  tenemos  mas  noticias  que  esta  ligera  refe- 
rencia."     {Ibid.,  pp.  503,  503.) 

47 


^ 


48  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

were  built:  the  Coliseo  and  La  Monteria,  "notable  for 
their  construction  and  famous  in  the  annals  of  the 
theater." 

"With  the  establishment  of  fixed  corrales  de  comedias/' 
says  Sanchez-Arjona,  "as  well  in  the  capital  as  in  Seville 
and  other  cities  of  importance,  and  with  the  increased 
fondness  of  the  people  for  theatrical  representations,  the 
number  of  professional  actors  also  continued  increasing, 
and  as,  down  to  this  time,  those  who  furnished  the  text  for 
the  autos^  also  represented  them,  or,  at  all  events,  in- 
trusted their  representation  to  persons  who  were  not  pro- 
fessional players,  from  this  time  there  began  to  take 
charge  of  these  representations  autores  de  comedias,  as  the 
chiefs  or  directors  of  the  companies  were  called,  and  a 
distinction  was  established  between  the  writer  and  the 
player."  2 

Of  the  Corral  de  Don  Juan  nothing  seems  to  be  known 
beyond  the  fact  just  stated,  that  Ganassa  acted  therein 
with  his  company  of  Italians  in  1575.^  The  Corral  de  las 
Atarazanas,  which  was  built  in  1578,  was  of  wood  and  was 
constructed  by  Diego  de  Vera,  lessee  of  the  huerta  de  las 
Atarazanas,  at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  ducats,  upon  a  spot 
once  occupied  by  a  rubbish-heap  in  the  huerta.  It  passed 
out  of  existence  in  1585,  when  a  mint  was  built  on  its  site. 
On  petition  to  the  city,  the  builder  and  lessee,  Diego  de 
Vera,  who  had  had  a  lease  for  eighteen  years,  at  an  annual 
rental  of  150  ducats,  was  permitted  to  erect  a  new  corral 
with  the  wood  and  materials  of  the  old  one,  in  the  huerta  de 

'  The  word  auto  was  first  applied  to  any  and  every  play;  then,  the  naean- 
ing  becoming  narrower,  an  auto  was  a  religious  play,  resembling  the  me- 
dieval Mysteries  (Gil  Vicente's  Auto  de  San  Martinho  is  probably  the 
earliest  piece  of  this  type).  Finally,  a  far  more  special  sense  was  developed, 
and  an  auto  sacramental  came  to  mean  a  dramatized  exposition  of  the  Mys- 
tery of  the  Blessed  Eucharist,  to  be  played  in  the  open  on  Corpus  Christi 
day.     (Fitzmaurice-Kelly,  History  of  Spanish  Literature,  p.  327.) 

^  Anales  del  Teatro  en  Sevilla,  p.  54,  sub  anno  1575.     See  above,  p.  32. 

'  It  stood  upon  the  site  of  what  is  to-day  the  Iglesia  de  los  Menores,  and 
derived  its  name  from  its  owner,  Don  Juan  Ortiz  de  Guzman.    {Ibid.,p.  si>) 


LA  CORRAL  DE  DONA  ELVIRA  49 

la  Alcoba,  likewise  upon  a  spot  that  had  once  been  a  dung- 
heap.  It  was  in  the  Corral  de  las  A  tarazanas  that  two 
comedias  by  Juan  de  la  Cueva,  La  Libertad  de  Espaha  por 
Bernardo  del  Carpio  and  La  Libertad  de  Roma  par  Mucio 
Scevola,  were  first  performed,  the  former  by  Pedro  de 
Saldaiia,  the  latter  by  Alonso  de  Capilla.* 

The  Corral  de  Dona  Elvira  was  in  existence  as  early  as 
1579,  for  in  that  year,  according  to  the  same  writer,  three 
plays  by  Juan  de  la  Cueva  were  first  represented  therein 
by  the  company  of  Alonso  Rodriguez.     Their  titles  are: 

KLa  Muerte  del  Rey  Don  Sancho  y  Reto  de  Zamora  por 
D.  Diego  Ordonez;  El  Saco  de  Roma  y  Muerte  de  Borbon 
y  Coronacion  de  nuestro  invicto  Emperador  Carlos  V.,  and 
the  tragedy  Los  siete  Infantes  de  Lara.  Besides,  the  fol- 
lowing four  plays,  also  by  Juan  de  la  Cueva,  were  repre- 
sented this  year  in  the  same  corral  by  the  company  of 
Pedro  de  Saldana  :  El  Degollado,  El  Tutor,  La  Constancia 
de  Arcelina,  and  the  tragedy  La  Muerte  de  Ayax  Telamon 
sobre  las  armas  de  Aquiles,  in  which,  Cueva  says,  Saldaiia 
played  the  part  of  Ajax  admirably.^ 

The  Corral  de  Doha  Elvira  was  situated  in  the  parish 
of  the  Sagrario,  near  the  residence  of  the  Count  of  Gelves, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Borceguineria,  with  an  entrance  through 
two  small  streets  {callejas)  near  the  Plazuela  del  Pozo 
Seco.^  The  corral  was*  so  called  because  it  was  built  on 
the  property  of  Doiia  Elvira  de  Ayala,  wife  of  the  admiral 

^  Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  60. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  64.   This  corral  was  originally  called  La  Huerta  de  Dona  Elvira. 

*  It  may  not  be  without  interest  to  note  that  in  1619  (and  doubtless  before 
this)  the  Corral  de  Dona  Elvira  belonged  to  the  Counts  of  Gelves.  In 
that  year  there  was  some  litigation  concerning  this  corral,  and  the  Count 
of  Lemos  is  mentioned  as  administrator  (curador)  of  "la  condesa  de 
gelbes  dona  Catalina  de  Portugal."  (Ibid.,  p.  196.)  Dona  Leonor  de 
Milan,  wife  of  D.  Alvaro  de  Portugal,  second  Count  of  Gelves,  was  the 
divinity  of  Fernando  de  Herrera's  verses,  whom  he  celebrates  under  the 
name  "Luz."  She  died  either  shortly  before  or  after  September  29,  1581, 
the  date  of  her  husband's  death.  Their  eldest  son,  D.  Jorge  Alberto  de 
Portugal,  born  in  1566,  died  in  1589,  "sans  laisser  de  posterite."  The 
Dona  Catalina  mentioned  above  was  probably  his  widow.  See  Coster, 
Fernando  de  H  err  era  {El  Divino),  pp.  112  fif. 


50  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

D.  Alvar  Perez  de  Guzman,  and  daughter  of  the  great 
Chancellor  of  Castile,  Pero  Lopez  de  Ayala.*  It  consisted 
of  a  spacious  patio  surrounded  by  numerous  aposentos 
(rooms  or  boxes)  and  a  cazuela,  having  its  entrance 
through  the  Calle  del  Agua,  opposite  the  Calle  del  Chorro. 
Perhaps  originally  the  patio  was  open  to  the  sky,  and  only 
the  aposentos  and  the  cazuela  were  covered,  as  in  other 
corrales  of  the  time.  But,  if  this  was  the  original  arrange- 
ment, the  corral  was  probably  completely  covered  after- 
ward, for  in  1 617  it  was  directed  that  "toda  la  armadura 
[framework,  truss]  que  cubre  el  dicho  coral  de  Dona 
Elvira,  juntamente  con  los  colgadizos  [shed,  shed-roof]  de 
los  lados,"  should  be  torn  down.^  Still,  it  is  probable  that 
the  armadura  may  have  merely  protected  the  stage. 

In  a  document  existing  in  the  Archivo  del  Alcazar  of 
Seville,  dated  October  10,  1585,  Diego  de  Vera,  lessee  of 
the  Corral  de  las  Atarazanas,  is  described  as  the  gardener 
of  the  huerta  de  la  Alcoba,  for  which  he  paid  a  yearly 
rental  of  450  ducats,  and  in  consideration  of  the  permis- 
sion to  build  a  theater  on  the  grounds  he  agrees  to  pay  an 
additional  150  ducats,  or  600  ducats  annually.^  The 
theater,  called  El  Coliseo  (the  street  in  which  it  stood  still 
bears  the  name),  was  finished  in  1607,  and  was  leased 
at  the  beginning  of  the  following  year  for  the  term 
of  six  years  to  Diego  de  Almonaci,  at  a  yearly  rental  of 
3250  ducats,  the  city  reserving  fourteen  aposentos,  which 
were  leased  to  Luis  de  Aguilar,  for  the  same  term,  at  800 
ducats  annually.  The  price  of  the  aposentos  was  fixed  at 
six  reals  each  for  every  representation.  At  this  time,  it 
seems,  there  were  only  two  other  corrales  in  Seville,  besides 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  65.  The  corral  must  have  been  built  on  property 
belonging  to  the  descendants  of  Dona  Elvira  de  Ayala,  for  if  she  was  the 
daughter  of  Pedro  Lopez  de  Ayala  she  must  have  been  dead  about  two 
hundred  years  at  this  time,  as  her  father,  the  great  Chancellor,  died  in 
1407.  See  Salazar  de  Mendoza,  Origen  de  las  Dignidades  seglares  de 
Castilla  y  Leon,  Madrid,  1794,  p.  278. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  65. 

*  See  above,  p.  48. 


THE  COLISEO  51 

the  Coliseo,  namely,  the  Dona  Elvira  and  the  San  Pedro. 
Wc  learn,  moreover,  that  in  1608  less  than  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  comedias  were  represented  in  the  city,  "on 
account  of  the  rains,  the  dog-days.  Lent,  and  for  lack  of 
theatrical  companies."^  Indeed,  it  is  said  that,  on  an  aver- 
age, the  period  during  which  performances  were  given 
in  a  corral  did  not  exceed  four  months  in  the  year,  after 
deducting  Sundays,  Lent,  the  summer  months  (in  which 
no  plays  were  given),  the  rainy  days,  and  other  occasions. 
The  price  of  the  sillas  in  the  theaters  at  this  time  was  half 
a  real;  a  seat  on  the  bancos  one  real,  and  the  aposentos  six 
reals  each. 

The  Coliseo,  though  the  latest  and  largest  of  the  cor- 
raleTTn  Seville,  was  originally  without  a  roof,  as  we  learn 
from  the  fact  that  those  living  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood used  to  gather  on  the  tops  of  their  houses  to 
view  the  performance,  "thus  occasioning  considerable 
loss  and  much  noise. "^  It  was  a  wooden  structure, 
which  must  have  been  very  poorly  built,  for  por- 
tions of  it  had  to  be  repaired  and  rebuilt  in  1614. 
It  was,  on  its  reconstruction,  provided  with  250  seats 
with  backs  {sillas  de  respaldo)  and  50  benches  cov- 
ered with  leather  and  having  stuffed  backs  (taburetes  con 
asientos  de  vaca  y  los  espaldares  aforrados  de  baldana  con 
sus  clavos  de  hierro  negros).  The  interior  was  supported 
by  twenty  Doric  columns,  with  bases  and  capitals  of  white 
marble;  these  were  ten  feet  high,  the  first  gallery  hav- 
ing twenty  columns,  likewise  of  marble,  seven  feet  high. 
In  this  gallery  were  the  twenty-nine  aposentos,  the  guard- 
rails of  which  were  of  iron,  and  above  this  another  gallery 
or  corredor.  Here  the  ventanas  were  situated,  each  more 
than  two  and  a  half  yards  high  and  one  and  a  half  yards 
wide,  in  the  wall  in  the  side  of  the  house  of  the  Marquis 
of  Ayamonte.  The  object  of  these  ventanas  was  to  give 
light  to  the  corral,  which,  unlike  other  theaters  of  the 

'  Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  133.  *  Ibid.,  p.  152. 


52  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

time,  was  covered  by  a  roof  and  painted  ceiling.  Besides 
the  patio,  in  which  the  representations  took  place,  there 
was  another  space,  forming  an  entrance,  the  floor  of  which 
was  paved  with  stone  and  likewise  decorated  in  marble. 
The  principal  entrance  was  also  of  marble,  surmounted  by 
the  arms  of  the  city.  In  the  body  of  the  house  (patio  de 
las  representaciones)  were  placed  fixed  benches  [bancos) 
and  the  sillas  de  respaldo  and  tahuretes  above  mentioned. 
The  work  of  rebuilding,  though  begun  in  1614,  progressed 
slowly,  and  the  theater  was  finally  leased  for  6500  ducats 
annually,  on  condition  that  the  lessee  should  finish  it  by 
Easter  of  1616.^  It  appears  that,  in  spite  of  the  large 
amount  of  money  expended  in  the  construction  of  the 
Coliseo,  its  acoustic  properties  were  defective,  and  the 
autores  coming  to  Seville  preferred  the  Corral  de  Dona 
Elvira,  although  the  latter  was  now  in  poor  condition  and 
in  need  of  repairs. 

These  two  corrales  were  the  only  ones  in  Seville  in  which 
performances  were  now  given,  and  so  great  was  the  pref- 
erence for  the  older  of  them  (Dona  Elvira)  that  in  1617 
Juan  Acacio,  after  representing  for  some  time  in  the 
Coliseo,  petitioned  that  his  company  might  now  pass  to 
the  Dona  Elvira  (in  which  Pedro  Llorente's  company  was 
then  performing) ,  on  account  of  the  few  people  who  visited 
the  Coliseo,  and  that  representations  be  given  alternately 
by.  the  two  autores  for  fixed  periods  in  the  two  corrales.^ 
Such,  however,  was  the  unsafe  condition  of  the  Dona 
Elvira  (the  roof  and  other  portions  of  which  were  in 
imminent  danger  of  falling,  according  to  an  examination 
made  by  a  commission)  that  it  was  resolved  to  tear  down 
this  corral  in  part  and  rebuild  it.  Accordingly,  Pedro  de 
Valdes,  who  was  then  (February,  161 7)  representing  with 
his  company  in  the  Dona  Elvira,  was  notified  to  cease, 
under  a  penalty  of  200  ducats.  Valdes  objected  on  ac- 
count of  the  large  amount  that  he  had  expended  for 
'apariencias  especially  made  for  a  comedia   already  an- 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  174.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  183. 


AUTOS  IN  THE  CORRALES  53 

nounced,  and  the  threat  to  close  the  theater  was  not  carried 
into  effect,  though  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  some  repairs 
were  made  in  the  building,  for  in  the  following  May, 
Pedro  Llorente  was  still  performing  therein. 

At  this  time  the  yearly  rental  of  the  Corral  de  Doha 
Elvira  was  3700  reals,  plus  one  half  the  profits,  the  other 
half  going  to  the  lessee.^ 

As  the  residence  of  the  Marquis  of  Ayamonte,  in  the 
Plaza  de  la  Regina,  adjoined  the  Coliseo,  the  city  granted 
him  the  privilege  of  making  a  private  entrance  to  one  of 
the  aposentos,  "in  view  of  the  fact  that  his  party- wall  had 
been  used  without  expense  to  the  theater;  that  he  had 
furnished  water  from  one  of  his  private  fountains,  and  had 
otherwise  aided  in  the  construction  of  the  said  corral." 
This  aposento  was  to  be  enjoyed  by  him  and  his  successors 
without  cost. 

Lope  de  Vega's  Ohras  son  Amores,  an  auto  written  in 
1 61 5,  but  not  yet  performed,  was  represented  in  Seville 
in  this  year  (1618),  he  receiving  600  reals  for  it. 

The  number  of  persons  frequenting  the  theater  having 
greatly  diminished,  to  the  serious  loss  of  all  concerned,  and 
especially  of  the  city  and  of  the  dependent  charities,  it  was 
resolved  to  close  the  Corral  de  Dona  Elvira  and  to  restrict 
all  performances  to  the  Coliseo.  No  representations  were  to 
be  given  in  the  Dona  Elvira  after  January  i,  1620,  and 
the  rental  of  the  Coliseo  was  increased  400  ducats  an- 
nually, to  counterbalance  the  loss  occasioned  by  the  closure 
of  the  Doha  Elvira. 

It  was  customary,  says  Sanchez- Arjona,  to  represent  the 
autos  of  the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi  in  the  corrales, 
which  was  an  additional  source  of  profit  to  the  theatrical 
managers.  This  year  (1619)  they  were  represented  in 
the  Doha  Elvira  by  the  companies  of  Juan  Acacio  and 
Diego  Vallejo,  and  a  poster  announcing  a  performance 
on  June  5,  1619,  is  still  preserved  in  the  Archive  del 
Ayuntamiento  of  Seville.^ 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  185.  "See  below,  p.  133. 


54  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

On  the  afternoon  of  July  25,  1620,  the  Coliseo  was  com- 
pletely destroyed  by  fire  during  the  performance  of  Clara- 
monte's  comedia  San  Onofre  6  el  Rey  de  los  Desiertos,  by 
the  company  of  Juan  Bautista  and  Juan  Jeronimo  Valen- 
ciano.  Fifteen  or  sixteen  persons,  mostly  women  and  chil- 
dren, lost  their  lives.  The  actors  all  escaped,  the  one  who 
played  the  part  of  San  Onofre  running  into  the  street 
almost  nude,  "with  a  bunch  of  ivy  (mata  de  yedra)  for 
small-clothes  {por  patios  menores) .  On  seeing  him  in 
this  strange  guise,  he  was  pursued  by  a  shouting  crowd  of 
little  boys  until  he  reached  his  house,  which,  unfortunately, 
was  some  distance  off."^ 

While  some  of  the  good  citizens  of  Seville  looked  upon 
the  burning  of  the  Coliseo  as  a  visitation  of  the  wrath  of 
the  Almighty,  the  municipal  authorities,  considering  the 
loss  which  the  city  had  sustained  in  its  revenues,  viewed  it 
in  a  different  light  and  resolved  to  rebuild  the  theater. 
Meanwhile  all  theatrical  performances  were  confined  to 
the  Dona  Elvira,  which  had  been  condemned  and  ordered 
to  be  torn  down  after  January  i,  1620,  as  we  have  seen. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  representations  did  not  cease  in  the 
Dona  Elvira  on  January  i,  and  the  lessee  at  the  time, 
Tuis  de  Leon,^  continued  to  give  performances  in  it. 

On  March  31,  1 62 1 ,  Philip  the  Third  died,  the  theaters 
were  closed,  and  all  representations  were  suspended  until 
July  28,  not  a  castanet  being  heard  at  the  performance  of 
the  atitos  of  that  year.^ 

The  city,  having  resolved,  in  1622,  to  rebuild  the 
Coliseo,  which  had  been  destroyed  by  fire  in  1620,  hit 
upon  a  rather  novel  expedient.  The  new  theater  was  to 
be  leased  for  a  period  of  nine  years,  the  lessee  to  pay  2000 
ducats  annually,  to  build  the  theater  at  his  own  expense, 
and  to  be  recouped  from  the  receipts.  The  lease  was  ad- 
judged to  Juan  Bautista  de  Villalobos,  apparently  a  man 

'  Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  212. 

'Ibid.    In  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  174,  this  name  js  given  as  Luis  de  Lesa. 

'Pellicer,  Vol.  I,  p.  161. 


SOME  STATISTICS  55 

of  straw,  put  up  by  Diego  de  Almonacid.  The  rent 
was  to  begin  on  January  i,  1623;  the  theater  to  be  fin- 
ished, according  to  plans  furnished  by  the  city,  on  the 
first  day  of  Pascua  Florida  of  1624.  The  prices  for  ad- 
mission to  the  various  localities  in  the  theater  were  fixed 
as  follows :  one  real  for  each  banco  (which  was  to  hold  zV 
least  three  persons),  24  maravedis  for  a  silla,  18  mara- 
vedis  for  a  taburete,  6  reals  each  for  the  aposentos 
which  were  entered  through  the  corral,  and  12  reals 
for  each  aposento  entered  from  the  outside  of  the  corral, 
because  persons  using  the  latter  were  to  pay  nothing  at 
the  entrance.  Out  of  these  12  reals,  however,  the  lessee 
was  obliged  to  pay  the  theater's  share  in  the  maintenance 
of  the  public  prison  and  such  other  imposts  as  were  payable 
out  of  the  entrance  money.  In  addition,  the  lessee  was 
entitled  to  his  share  of  the  takings  at  the  second  door.  In 
the  patio  eight  or  nine  fixed  benches  were  to  be  placed  for 
those  who  only  paid  the  entrance  fee.^ 

In  order  to  determine  the  rental  to  be  paid,  the 
following  curious  statistics  were  drawn  up,  showing* 
the  amounts  produced  and  the  expenses  incurred.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  important  documents  concerning  the  early 
Spanish  theater  which  we  possess,  and  is  as  follows: 
Representations  can  only  be  given  on  198  days  out  of  the 
365  in  a  year,  since  none  can  be  given  on  the  remaining  167 
days,  for  the  following  reasons : 

46  days  during  Lent. 

77  days  for  the  months  of  July,  August,  and  half  of  Sep- 
tember, when  no  autores  come  to  Seville. 

34  for  the  Saturdays,  on  which  days  no  performance  can 
be  given. 

10  days  to  be  allowed  for  the  making  of  apariencias 
(stage machinery)  ;    for    St.    Sebastian's    and    St. 
James's  day;  because  of  few  spectators  and  on  ac- 
count of  rain. 
167  days. 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  218. 


56  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

There  remain  198  days  for  representations,  "rather  less 
than  more,  for  none  have  been  deducted  for  the  time  that 
elapses  between  the  coming  and  going  of  the  various 
autores." 

The  lessee's  share  for  these  198  days  is:  From  the  en- 
trance fee  of  each  person  he  receives  5  maravedis,  "and 
as  it  is  notorious  that  many  persons  enter  who  do  not  pay, 
it  is  calculated  that,  taking  one  day  with  another,  about 
350  persons  will  pay  each  day,  which,  at  5  maravedis, 
amounts  to  513^  reals." 

From  each  silla  he  receives  6  cuartos  (=24  maravedis) 
and  from  each  taburete  4I/2  cuartos  (=^18  maravedis), 
and  taking  into  account  those  for  which  nothing  is  received, 
it  is  estimated  that  40  sillas  and  20  tahuretes  will  be  paid 
for  daily,  which  amounts  to  39  reals. 

From  each  banco  the  lessee  receives  one  real,  and  count- 
ing that  on  an  average  thirty-two  are  rented  daily,  this 
amounts  to  32  reals. 

Of  the  twenty-eight  aposentos,  supposing  that  on  an 
average  twelve  are  rented,  and  taking  these  at  an  average 
rate  of  9  reals  each,  produces  108  reals  daily. 

Estimating  the  rental  of  the  right  to  sell  water,  sweets, 
fruit,  aloja  (a  kind  of  mead),  etc.,  at  8  reals  per  day,  it 
gives  a  total  of  2385^  reals  daily,  which,  for  198  days, 
amounts  to  47,223  reals.  Besides,  during  Lent  and  at 
other  times  it  is  customary  to  have  in  the  Coliseo  puppet- 
shows  or  pantomimes  {titeres)  and  other  games,  and 
these  produce  about  1000  reals  yearly.  The  living-rooms 
in  the  residence  portion  of  the  Coliseo  (which  are  also 
one  of  the  benefits  accruing  to  the  lessee)  are  worth  600 
reals  each  year.  This  makes  the  total  annual  receipts 
of  the  lessee  48,823  reals. 

Payments  and  expenditures:  The  amount  expended  in 
sending  for  the  various  autores,  for  sums  advanced  to 
them,  and  for  cost  of  apariencias  and  other  expenses,  5 
reals  for  each  day  of  representation.    To  the  person  who 


LA  MONTERIA  57 

takes  the  money  at  the  first  entrance,  8  reals  daily;  to  the 
person  in  charge  of  the  sillas  and  buncos,  6  reals  daily;  to 
the  person  who  hires  the  aposentos  on  the  right-hand  side, 
6  reals;  to  the  one  who  hires  the  aposentos  on  the  left,  6 
reals  daily.  To  the  autor  representing,  an  average  of  64J/2 
reals  daily  as  an  ayuda  de  costas.^  To  the  poor  of  the 
prison,  one  sixth  of  the  proceeds  of  the  aposentos,  sillas, 
and  bancos  (together  179  reals),  that  is,  29^  reals.  This 
makes  a  total  daily  expenditure  of  125  reals,  or  in  198 
days  24,750  reals.  Adding  to  this  the  interest  on  the 
sum  expended  in  the  erection  of  the  Coliseo,  about  10,000 
ducats,  which  amounts  to  about  10  reals  per  day,  or  3650 
reals  for  the  year,  the  total  amount  of  expenditures  is 
about  28,400  reals.  Deducting  this  from  the  receipts, 
48,823  reals,  leaves  a  profit  of  about  20,423  reals  annually. 
If,  therefore,  the  corral  were  rented  for  1600  ducats 
(17,600  reals),  it  would  leave  a  sufficient  profit  to  the 
lessee.  We  have  seen  that  it  had  Jbeen  rented  to  Juan 
Bautista  de  Villalobos  for  2000  ducats  annually. 

In  1626,  in  the  former  Alcazar  of  Seville,  in  the  spa- 
cious "patio  de  la  Monteria"  a  new  theater  was  built 
called  La  Monteria.  The  corral  was  leased  to  Diego  de 
Almonaci,  the  younger  (el  mozo),  "who  shall  cause  to  be 
constructed  on  his  own  account,  and  according  to  the  plans 
made  by  Bermudo  Resta,  a  corral  for  the  representation  of 
comedias,  he  to  enjoy  the  profits  for  the  space  of  ten 
years,  to  begin  with  the  day  of  Pascua  de  la  Resurreccion." 
The  condition  of  the  agreement  was  that  the  amount  ex- 

^  Besides  this  amount  the  autor  received  his  share  of  the  money  taken  at 
the  door.  This,  however,  does  not  seem  to  have  been  the  usual  practice. 
It  was  customary  for  the  lessee  of  the  theater  to  give  a  fixed  sum  to  the 
autor  of  the  company  for  each  performance.  As  an  instance  we  may  men- 
tion that  Diego  de  Almonacid,  lessee  of  the  corrales  of  Seville  in  1619,  had 
signed  an  agreement  in  that  year,  whereby  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas  and 
his  company  were  to  give  sixty  representations  in  the  Coliseo,  the  said 
Sanchez  to  receive  locjp  reals  for  each  performance.  These  representations 
were  actually  given  by  the  company  of  Cristobal  Ortiz  de  Villazan.  {Nue- 
vos  Datos,  p.  177.) 


58  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

pended  by  the  lessee,  under  the  supervision  of  the  oficiales 
of  the  Alcazar,  was  to  be  deducted  from  the  rent,  which 
was  fixed  at  850  ducats  annually,  Almonaci  agreeing  to 
finish  the  corral  by  the  next  ensuing  Pascua  Florida,  the 
contract  being  dated  December  6,  1625. 

As  already  stated,  the  theater  was  to  be  built  at  the  sole 
expense  of  the  lessee,  "who  was  to  enjoy  all  the  profits 
there  might  be  from  the  street  entrance  to  the  second  door  of 
La  Monteria,  as  well  as  what  might  be  taken  from  the  ad- 
missions, bancos,  5i//a5,«po5^«;o5,  or  any  other  thing  which 
might  or  ought  to  be  profitable."  ^  Only  one  real  was  to  be 
charged  for  each  silla  as  well  as  for  each  banco  (perhaps 
this  means  for  each  seat  on  a  banco,  as  they  held  three 
persons) ;  six  reals  for  the  aposentos  (boxes  or  stalls) 
entered  from  within,  and  twelve  reals  for  those  entered 
directly  from  the  street,  because  persons  using  the  former 
also  had  to  pay  an  entrance  fee.  It  was  stipulated  that 
there  should  be  two  alguaciles,  each  to  be  paid  ten  reals 
daily,  at  the  joint  expense  of  the  lessee  and  the  autor; 
one  of  these  officers  to  be  stationed  at  the  first  entrance, 
the  other  at  the  entrance  for  women.  The  building 
was  to  be  of  wood  and  all  the  aposentos  and  passages 
to  be  paved  with  brick;  the  aposentos  to  be  furnished 
with  partitions  and  iron  railings  and  lattices  or  blinds. 
The  whole  to  be  whitewashed  and  the  aposentos  to  be 
provided  with  doors,  locks,  and  keys.  The  structure 
was  oval,^  with  two  rows  or  series  of  aposentos,  situated 
on  the  right  and  left  of  the  principal  entrance.  There  were 
thirty-four  aposentos,  sixteen  above  and  eighteen  below, 
of  which  four  were  reserved  for  the  Alcazar.  Above  the 
aposentos  was  the  cazuela  (stewpan),  or  place  set  apart 

*  "Que  acabado  el  corral  el  arrendador  habia  de  gozar  de  todos  los 
aprovechainientos  que  hubiere  6  pudiese  haber  desde  la  puerta  de  la  calle 
hasta  la  segunda  puerta  de  la  Monteria,  asi  lo  que  se  cobrase  de  entradas, 
bancos,  sillas,"  etc.     (Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  250.)  v 

*This  was  the  first  oval  theater,  to  my  knowledge.  All  others  had  been 
rectangular  in  shape. 


A  COSTLY  THEATER  59 

for  women.  The  patio,  in  which  the  sillas  and  bancos  were 
placed,  was  of  earth  firmly  rammed,  and  the  whole  corral 
was  covered  by  a  wooden  roof.  The  building  also  con- 
tained living-rooms  for  the  autor  or  for  the  players.  Its 
total  cost  was  over  183,000  reals. ^  This  sum,  which 
represents  a  purchasing  power  to-day  of  about  $45,000, 
will  give  some  idea  of  the  character  of  the  new  theater. 
La  Monteria.  The  first  representation  in  it  took  place  on 
May  25,  1626. 

The  Corral  de  Dona  Elvira,  which  had  its  entrance  in 
the  Calle  del  Agua,  opposite  the  Calle  del  Chorro,  had 
long  been  in  need  of  repairs.  Like  the  rest  of  the 
older  theaters  of  the  time,  it  consisted  of  a  spacious 
patio  open  to  the  sky,  surrounded  by  covered  aposentos 
and  a  covered  cazuela.  The  more  convenient  situation 
of  La  Monteria  (though  it  was  not  very  far  from  the 
Dona  Elvira),  and  the  fact  that  the  former  was  a  new 
and  much  handsomer  structure,  gradually  caused  the  public 
to  neglect  more  and  more  the  Dona  Elvira,  which  was 
finally  closed  and  torn  down.  A  part  of  it  was  converted 
into  a  tavern,  the  remaining  ground  being  used  for  games. 
Later,  cards  and  dice  were  played  here,  and  the  place  be- 
came the  haunt  of  ruffians  and  vagabonds.  Finally,  in 
1679,  an  asylum  for  poor  priests  was  built  on  its  site. 

In  1629  La  Monteria  was  leased  to  Domingo  de  Rogas 
for  six  years  at  1450  ducats  annually.  While  the  Coliseo 
was  to  have  been  finished  by  Easter,   1624,  as  we  have 

'  The  very  interesting  memorandum,  preserved  in  the  Archivo  del  Alca- 
zar, is  as  follows:  "Importe  de  la  madera  63,730  reales.  Materiales  35,587. 
La  clavazon  18,091.  Raspadores,  aserradores,  traida  de  maderas  y  mate- 
riales, jornales  al  carpintero  Felipe  Nieto  y  sus  oficiales  y  al  albaiiil  Gabriel 
Marin  y  sus  oficiales  y  peones  50,985.  En  lucir  el  frente  del  teatro  y  otras 
paredes,  solar  los  dos  aposentos  del  vestuario  de  ladrillo,  igualar  a  pison  el 
suelo  del  patio,  hacer  unas  gradas,  tarimas  y  otras  obras  de  arbanileria  y 
carpinteria,  y  por  ultimo  e!  escudo,  columnas  y  la  Fama  que  se  pinto  encima 
del  teatro,  por  cuya  pintura  solo  se  abonaron  mil  reales — 4000.  Planchas 
de  hierro  y  abrazaderas  para  la  seguridad  y  firmeza  de  la  obra  y  hierra- 
mientas,  etc.,  n,ooo  reales,"  making  a  total  of  183,393  reals.  (Sanchez- 
Arjona,  Anales,  p.  252.) 


6o  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

seen,  the  building  was  not  actually  completed  until  1631. 
Much  of  what  had  been  built  in  this  long  interval  by  the 
lessees  was  so  badly  done  that  the  city  determined  to  tear 
it  down  and  build  it  anew.  An  agreement  was  made  with 
Alonso  de  Vergara  to  construct  a  new  theater.  He 
was  to  pay  1400  ducats  yearly  for  ten  years,  the  cost  of  the 
new  building  to  be  deducted  from  the  rent.  A  further  con- 
dition was  that  the  structure  must  be  finished  by  Easter, 
1632.  Rodrigo  Caro  describes  this  magnificent  and 
costly  building,  "worthy  of  all  esteem  and  praise,"  as  "the 
finest  of  its  kind  in  Spain,  and  capable  of  holding  between 
four  and  five  thousand  spectators,  all  of  whom  were 
equally  able  to  see  and  hear."^ 

In  1636  La  Monteria  was  leased  to  Miguel  de  Molina 
for  six  years  at  an  annual  rental  of  1450  ducats  (15,950 
reals),  to  be  paid  in  three  payments.^  In  the  following 
year  Antonio  de  Prado,  autor  de  comedias,  agreed  with 
the  lessee  of  the  Coliseo  to  give  sixty  performances,  from 
the  second  day  of  Easter  till  Corpus,  receiving  200  reals 
for  each  performance  as  an  ayuda  de  castas;  of  these 
12,000  reals  4000  were  to  be  paid  on  signing  the  contract, 
and  the  balance  on  Palm  Sunday. 

On  October  4,  1659,  the  Coliseo  was  again  destroyed  by 
fire,  only  the  front  wall  and  a  few  rooms  (in  which  actors 
lived)  remaining  of  the  famous  edifice.  It  may  be  noted 
that  the  two  companies  of  players  in  Seville  in  the  follow- 
ing year  (1660)  were  managed  by  women.  Thts^  autoras 
were  Francisca  Lopez  and  Juana  de  Cisneros. 

^"El  Coliseo  tenia  tres  ordenes  de  aposentos,  de  balconeria  de  hierro, 
unos  sobre  otros,  trabados  en  estribos  de  magnifica  y  costosa  silleria,  cubierto 
el  alto  de  un  arteson  igual  por  techo,  con  rica  pintura,  para  las  representa- 
ciones  que  se  hacen  al  pueblo,  con  tanta  distinclon  para  diferentes  personas 
de  hombres  y  mujeres,  que  no  pueden  embarazarse  unos  d  otros,  y  tan  capaz 
su  disposicion  que  caben  cuatro  d  cinco  mil  personas,  pudiendo  gozar  todas 
igualmente  de  la  vista  y  oido  de  su  teatro;  obra  digna  de  toda  estiroacion 
y  alabanza  por  la  mejor  de  Espana  de  las  de  su  genero,"  etc.  {Antigue- 
dades  de  Seiilla,  fol.  25  v,  quoted  by  Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  270.) 

*  In  1642  La  Monteria  was  leased  to  Antonio  Correa  at  a  yearly  rental 
of  13,000  reals  vellon. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  LA  MONTERIA       6i 

The  Coliseo  was  rebuilt  in  1676.  Three  years  later 
both  theaters  were  closed  on  account  of  the  plague.  A 
portion  of  La  Monteria  was  then  used  as  a  stable,  in 
which,  on  May  3,  1691,  a  fire  broke  out,  and  the  whole 
corral  was  reduced  to  ashes,  "causing  it  to  disappear  for- 
ever."^ 

How  soon  after  1679  representations  were  resumed 
in  the  Coliseo  is  uncertain.  It  is  not  likely,  however, 
that  any  performances  were  given  in  it  until  1692, 
when  permission  was  granted  to  a  company  of  acro- 
bats and  sleight-of-hand  performers  to  represent  therein. 
These  performances  found  such  favor  that  women  used 
to  go  to  the  theater  early  in  the  morning  to  secure  a 
seat.  On  November  12,  1698,  during  the  performance 
of  Mescua's  comedia  El  Esclavo  del  Demonio,  a  woman 
in  the  cazuela  raised  a  cry  of  fire.  In  the  attempt  to 
escape  from  the  building  a  number  of  women  were  killed, 
and  thereafter  all  theatrical  representations  in  the  Coliseo 
were  forbidden,  which  interdict  lasted  till  after  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century.^ 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  495. 

*  Concerning  the  theater  in  Valladolid,  Sr.  Cortes  says:  "El  patio  de 
comedias  se  hallaba  situado  en  el  mismo  sitio  donde  aun  existe  el  teatro 
antiguo  (plaza  de  las  Comedias).  Su  administracion  correspondia  a  la 
cofradia  de  S.  Jose,  con  el  directo  apoyo  del  Ayuntamiento,  que  tenia  su 
aposento  propio  para  presenciar  las  representaciones."  {Noticias  de  una 
Corte  literaria,  Valladolid,  1906,  p.  30.) 


CHAPTER  IV 

Music  in  the  corrales.  Dancing,  Spectators  on  the  stage.  Various 
dances  and  bayles  at  Corpus  Christi.  The  Zarabanda,  Chacona, 
Escarraman,  etc. 

About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  in  the  time 
of  Lope  de  Rueda,  as  we  have  seen,  the  music  accompany- 
ing the  plays  acted  in  the  public  squares  was  provided  by 
one  or  two  persons  "who  sang  an  old  ballad  without  the 
accompaniment  of  a  guitar,"  behind  a  woolen  blanket, 
which  served  as  a  curtain,  and  which  separated  the  dress- 
ing-room (vestuario)  from  the  stage. ^  It  was  Pedro 
Navarro  of  Toledo,  Cervantes  tells  us,  "who  brought  the 
musicians,  who  formerly  sang  behind  the  curtain,  upon 
the  public  stage."  ^  Here  they  played  before  and  after 
the  performance  of  the  farce  or  between  the  acts  of  a 

^  See  above,  p.  17.  Rojas,  speaking  of  the  time  of  Lope  de  Rueda,  says 
that  a  guitar  was  played  behind  the  curtain: 

"Tanian  una  guitarra 
Y  esta  nunca  salia  fuera 
Sino  a  dentro." 

{Viage  entretenido,  ed.  1603,  p.  124.) 

'"Sucedio  a  Lope  de  Rueda  Nabarro,  natural  de  Toledo,  el  qual  .  .  . 
saco  la  musica  que  antes  cataua  detras  de  la  manta  al  teatro  publico." 
(Ocho  Comedias,  etc.,  Madrid,  161 5,  "Prologo  al  Lector.")  "El  teatro 
publico"  evidently  means  the  stage.  As  late  as  1671  the  musicians  of 
Moliere's  troupe  were  concealed  from  the  spectator:  "Jusques  icy  [15 
Auril,  1671]  les  musiciens  et  musiciennes  n'auoient  point  voulu  parroistre 
en  public;  ils  chantoient  a  la  Comedie  dans  des  loges  grillees  et  treillissees, 
mais  on  surmonta  cet  obstacle,  et  auec  quelque  legere  despance  on  trouua 
des  personnes  qui  chanterent  sur  le  Theatre  a  visage  descouuert,  habillez 
comme  les  Comediens,  scauoir  .  .  ."  etc.,  and  he  gives  the  names  of  eight 
musicians.  {Reg'tstre  de  La  Grange,  Paris,  1876,  p.  124.)  In  the  London 
theaters,  the  "band,"  as  Malone  calls  it,  "sat  in  an  upper  balcony,  over 

62 


THE  MUSICIANS  63 

comedia.  As  I  have  nowhere  found  any  special  place 
designated  for  the  musicians,  it  is  probable  that  they 
occupied  the  stage  during  the  whole  of  the  best  period 
of  the  comedia.  Indeed,  as  the  principal  part  of  their 
entertainment  consisted  of  singing,  they  could  not  have 
been  stationed  elsewhere. 

In  1593  we  find  that  a  comedia  was  performed  "with 
its  entremeses  and  with  its  music  of  a  viola  and  guitars,"^ 
and  we  are  told  that  later  the  music  consisted  of  "two  or 
three  violins  and  an  oboe."  Even  in  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  theatrical  companies  in  Spain  rarely  contained 
morethanfourorfivemusicians.  Most  of  the  actresses  were 
also  dancers  ( bailarines ) ,  and  every  company  contained  per- 
sons who  were  designated  especially  as  dancers,  while 
most  players  were  hired  both  to  act  and  dance. 

In  the  company  of  the  famous  Alonso  Riquelme,  a 
favorite  autor  of  Lope  de  Vega,  we  find  the  following 
musicians  in  1607:  Luis  de  Quifiones,  musico  y  repre- 
sentante;  Vega;  Francisco  Martinez;  Leon,  musico  y 
baildrin;  Marigravlela,  musica  y  representanta;  Maria  de 
los  Angeles,  musica  y  representanta,  and  Juan  Catalan, 
musico  y  representante.^  Here  the  term  musica,  in  the 
case  of  the  actresses,  probably  meant  merely  singer.  In 
1 61 9,  when  the  comedia  was  almost  at  its  apogee,  the 
company  of  Diego  Vallejo  contained  but  two  musicians, 
and  the  same  number  were  in  the  companies  of  Juan  Acacio 
and  Cristobal  Ortiz.^  By  1640  the  number  of  musicians 
in  a  company  seems  to  have  been  greatly  increased.     In 

■what  is  now  called  the  stage-box,"  and  was  not  placed  "between  the  pit 
and  the  stage,"  until  1667.  {Historical  Account  of  the  English  Stage, 
Basil,  1800,  pp.  120,  123.) 

^  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  37.  Minsheu  says  viola  is  the  same  as 
vihuela,  "an  instrument  called  a  viall,  sometimes  a  bandore,"  and  defines 
Vihuela  de  drco  as  "a  viall  de  Gamba,  or  a  great  viall  that  men  set  be- 
tween their  legs  to  play  on."  {Spanish  Dictionary,  London,  1599.) 
Clemencin  says:  "Vihuela  en  lo  antiguo  era  distinto  de  guitarra,  y  habia 
vihuela  de  mano  y  de  arco."     {Don  Quixote,  ed.  1833,  Vol.  V,  p.  423.) 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  126. 

^  Ibid.,  pp.  203,  204. 


64  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

that  year  the  first  five  actresses  in  the  company  of  Antonio 
de  Rueda  have  added  to  their  names  the  word  musica,  and 
in  two  of  these  cases  the  word  arpa  is  also  used;  four  men 
musicians  are  also  in  the  company,  one  of  them  being 
maestro  de  la  musica  and  two  being  harpists.  As  this 
company  represented  the  autos  in  Seville  in  that  year,  the 
large  number  of  musicians  may  be  due  to  that  fact.^ 

Upon  the  English  stage  more  attention  seems  to  have 
been  paid  to  instrumental  music,  where  it  was  likewise 
played  between  the  acts;  the  instruments  chiefly  used 
were  trumpets,  cornets,  hautboys,  lutes,  recorders,  viols, 
and  organs.  Malone^  cites  the  following  stage  directions 
from  Marston's  Sophonisba,  acted  at  the  Blackfriars 
theater  in  1606:  "The  ladies  draw  the  curtains  about 
Sophonisba;— the  cornets  and  organs  playing  loud  full 
musicke  for  the  act.  .  .  .  Organ  mixt  with  recorders,  for 
this  act.  .  .  .  Organs,  viols,  and  voices  play  for  this 
act.  ...  A  base  lute  and  treble  viol  play  for  this  act." 
And  in  Henslowe's  Diary ^  we  read:  "Lent  unto  Richard 
Jonnes  the  22  of  desember  1598  to  bye  a  basse  viall  & 
other  enstrementes  for  the  companey,  x  x  x  x  s." 

It  is  well  known  that  in  the  Elizabethan  theater  the  gal- 
lants frequently  took  seats  upon  the  stage  ;^  whether  this 

*  In  1631  Luisa  de  Guevara  agreed  to  play  third  parts  in  the  company  of 
Juan  Martinez  and  also  first  musical  parts  (primera  parte  de  musica) 
(Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  220)  ;  and  in  1633  Alonso  Gonzalez  Cama- 
cho  agreed  to  play  the  violin,  dance,  and  poner  los  tonos  in  the  company  of 
Fernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas  during  the  octave  of  Corpus  for  500  reals,  a 
very  considerable  amount.  {Ibid.,  p.  233;  see  also  ibid.,  p.  246.)  Every 
company  also  contained  a  prompter  {apuntador) . 

'Historical  Account  of  the  English  Stage,  Basil,  1800,  p.  120,  note. 

*  Edited  by  W.  W.  Greg,  London,  1904,  Vol.  I,  p.  100. 

*  "Whether  therefore  the  gatherers  [Spanish  =z  cobradores"]  of  the  public 
or  private  playhouse  stand  to  receive  the  afternoones  rent,  let  our  Gallant 
(hauing  paid  it)  presently  aduance  himself  up  to  the  throne  of  the  Stage. 
I  mean  not  into  the  Lords  roome  .  .  .  but  on  the  very  Rushes  where  the 
Comedy  is  to  daunce.  ...  By  sitting  on  the  Stage,  you  haue  a  signed  patent 
to  engrosse  the  whole  commodity  of  Censure;  may  lawfully  presume  to  be 
a  Girder;  and  stand  at  the  helme  to  steere  the  passage  of  scanes,  etc.  .  .  . 
By  sitting  on  the  stage,  you  may  (with  small  cost)  purchase  the  deere 
acquaintance  of  the  boyes;  haue  a  good  stiole  for  six  pence,"  etc.    (Dekker, 


SPECTATORS  ON  THE  STAGE  6s 

custom  prevailed  in  Spain  in  the  early  period  we  are  unable 
to  determine.^  I  find  no  evidence  of  spectators  being  ad- 
mitted to  the  Madrid  stage  at  any  time.  That  they  occu- 
pied seats  on  the  stage  in  Seville  is  shown  by  an  incident 
recorded  by  Sanchez-Arjona.  On  May  31,  1635,  in  the 
theater  La  Monteria,  the  company  of  Salvador  Lara  and 
Maria  Candau,  his  wife,  was  representing  the  burlesque 
comedia  Casarse  por  defender.  In  the  second  act  there 
is  a  passage  which  necessitates  the  drawing  of  swords, 
and  one  of  the  actors,  Antonio  de  Rueda,  accidentally 
wounded  in  the  face  a  boy  who  was  sitting  on  the  stage 
viewing  the  performance,  and  who  promptly  ran  out  of 
the  theater  shouting,  "Confession,  confession,  they  have 

The  GuVs  Horne-Booke,  London,  1609,  chap,  vi.)  From  the  three  legs  of  the 
stools  here  mentioned,  they  were  called  tripos.  Wallace  says  that  "the 
fad  of  sitting  on  the  stage  came  into  vogue  with  the  Blackfriars  in 
1597.  ...  It  was  a  custom  in  no  other  theater  in  Elizabeth's  reign."  He 
adds  that  it  was  imitated  afterward  by  two  other  private  theaters,  the 
Cockpit  (1617)  and  Salisbury  Court  (1629),  but  that  it  was  never  toler- 
ated at  the  Globe  or  at  any  public  playhouse,  and  was  abolished  sometime 
prior  to  September  14,  1639.  {The  Children  of  the  Chapel  at  Blackfriars 
1597-J603,  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  1908,  pp.  130  ff.)  According  to  this  writer 
the  custom  spread  from  England  to  France. 

*  From  the  Argumento  which  precedes  the  Auto  de  la  Ungion  de  David 
(second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century),  one  might  infer  that  at  the  repre- 
sentations of  the  short  autos  or  farces  of  that  time  the  spectators  were  in 
the  habit  of  gathering  upon  the  platform  or  stage.  This  Argumento  is  as 
follows:  "...  El  acostunbrada  aten^ion  que  en  semejantescasos  se  rrequiere 
pide  el  autor,  para  que  con  ella  entiendan  claramente  la  obra ;  y  porque 
siento  qu'el  profeta  [one  of  the  characters]  sale,  le  quiero  desocupar  el  sitio, 
suplicando  a  vs.  mds.  suplan  nuestras  faltas."  {Coleccion  de  Autos,  Farsas, 
etc.,  ed.  Rouanet,  Vol.  I,  p.  315.)  Bapst  says  that  the  custom  of  the 
elegants  sitting  upon  the  stage  was  unknown  in  France  in  the  middle  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  (Essai  sur  I'histoire  du  Theatre,  Paris,  1893, 
p.  146.)  But  it  was  evidently  in  vogue  in  1661,  for  in  that  year  Moliere, 
in  the  opening  lines  of  Les  Fdcheux,  denounces  this  reprehensible  practice, 
and  four  years  later  he  again  complains  of  it  at  the  performance  of  the 
tragi-comedy  La  Coquette  ou  le  Favori  at  Versailles:  "Le  Vendredy  12 
Juin,  [1665]  la  Troupe  est  allee  a  Versailles  par  ordre  du  Roy,  ou  on  a 
joue  le  Fauory  dans  le  jardin,  sur  un  theastre  tout  garny  d'orangers,  M"" 
de  Moliere  fist  vn  prologue  en  marquis  ridiculle  qui  uouloit  estre  sur  le 
theastre  malgre  les  gardes,  et  eust  une  conuersation  risible  auec  vne 
actrice  qui  fist  la  marquise  ridiculle,  placee  au  milieu  de  I'assemblee." 
(Registre  de  La  Grange,  Paris,  1876,  p.  74.)  Voltaire  also  alludes  to 
"la  foule  des  spectateurs  confondues  sur  la  scene  avec  les  acteurs"  on  the 


66  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

killed  me."  The  wound  was  a  slight  one,  and  the  barber, 
we  are  told,  made  "la  primera  cura."^ 

As  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  Spanish 
women  were  celebrated  as  dancers,^  and  as  far  as  modern 
times  are  concerned,  Ticknor  truly  observes  that  "dancing 
has  been  to  Spain  what  music  has  been  to  Italy,  a  passion 
with  the  whole  population."    As  Cervantes  says: 

There  never  yet  has  been  a  Spanish  woman 
Who  was  not  born  into  this  world  a  dancer.' 

From  the  King  down,  everybody  danced,  and  it  was  said 
of  the  grave  and  somber  Philip  the  Third  that  "he  dances 
very  well  and  it  is  the  thing  that  he  does  best  and  enjoys 
most."* 

occasion  of  the  first  performance  of  his  Semiramis.  {Dissertation  sur  la 
Tragedie  Ancienne  et  Moderne  (seconde  partie),  in  Oeuvres  Completes, 
Paris,  1823,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  iii.)  According  to  Despois  this  practice  did  not 
cease  in  France  till  1759.  See  his  interesting  note  in  Oeuvres  de  Moliere 
(ed.  des  Grands  ficrivains  de  la  France),  Paris,  1876,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  36,  and 
Fischmann,  Moliere  als  Schauspieldirektor,  in  Ztft.  fiir  Franz.  Sprache  und 
Lit.  (1905),  p.  30. 

^  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  296. 

^  Spanish  dancers  were  famous  among  the  Romans,  the  lascivious  dances 
of  the  women  of  Cadiz  being  especially  mentioned  by  Juvenal  and  Martial. 
Mariana,  in  his  chapter  on  the  Zarabanda,  says:  "las  mugeres  que  hacian 
este  baile  de  deshonestidad  las  llamaban  en  Roma  gaditanas,  de  Cidiz, 
ciudad  de  Espaiia,  donde  se  debio  de  inventar  en  aquel  tiempo."  (Contra 
los  Juegos  publicos,  cap.  xii.)     Martial's  words  are: 

"Nee  de  Gadibus  improbis  puellae 
Vibrabunt  sine  fine  prurientes 
Lascivos  docili  tremore  lumbos." 
See  also  the  eleventh  Satire  of  Juvenal,  the  passage  beginning:  Forsitan 
expectes  ut  gaditana  canoro,  etc. 

*  "No  ay  muger  Espanola  que  no  saiga 
del  vientre  de  su  madre  bayladora." 
La  gran  Sultana,  Act  III.     {Ocho  Comedias,  Madrid,  1615,  fol.  130,  v.) 
*  See   the  very   interesting   Cuadros  viejos  of   Julio  Monreal,    Madrid, 
1878,  the  chapter  entitled  "Los  Bailes  de  antafio."     In  Lope's  El  Maestro 
de  Danzar  (written  in  1594),  Tebano  says: 

"Verdad  es  que  es  el  danzar 
El  alma  de  la  hermosura, 
Que  mas  que  el  rostro  procura 
Persuadir  y  enamorar. 


DANCES  AT  CORPUS  67 

Music  and  dancing  seem  to  have  been  indispensable 
accompaniments  of  the  comedia  from  the  earliest  times. 
They  were  also  a  necessary  part  of  all  religious  festivals 
and  representations,  and  we  may  be  sure  that  no  auto  was 
performed  without  music  and  dancing  for  the  delectation 
of  the  spectators.  One  of  the  earliest  documents  pre- 
served in  the  Archives  of  Madrid  concerning  these 
dances  is  dated  May  17,  1574,  when  Alfonso  de  Sllva, 
dancing-master,  agreed  to  present  four  dances  at  the  festi- 
val of  the  Holy  Sacrament;^  and  in  1579  Jusepe  de  las 
Cuevas  produced  a  dance  "representing  the  battle  of 
Rodrigo  de  Narvaez  with  the  Moor  Ablndarraez"  at  the 
festival  of  Corpus  ChrlstI,  and  also  a  dance  of  the  "Seven 
Virtues  and  Seven  Slns."^  These  dancers  were  frequently 
Portuguese,  and  In  1587  one  Hurtado,  at  the  Corpus 
festival  in  Seville,  exhibited  a  car  "with  five  Portuguese 
women,  with  their  tamboriles  and  sonajas^  and  instru- 
ments, who  are  to  dance,  play,  and  sing  along  the  streets 
through  which  the  procession  is  to  pass";^  and  in  1590 
eight  ducats  were  paid  to  Leonor  Rija,  a  mulatto,  to  ap- 
pear upon  a  car  at  Corpus  in  Seville,  and  dance,  sing,  and 
play  the  guitar,  sonajas  and  tamboril,  together  with  four 
other  mulatto  women  and  two  men.^  In  the  same  city  at 
the  Corpus  festival  of  1591,  two  sleight-of-hand  perform- 

Que  aquel  agil  movlmiento 
Muestra  con  mayor  afeto 
Un  sentimiento  secreto 
Que  nos  muestra  sentimiento." 

(Act  I,  Scene  IV,  ed.  Hartzenbusch,  II,  p.  73.) 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  9. 
^  Ibid.,  p.  12. 

'  Tamboril  =  timbrel  or  tabor ;  sonajas  =  "a  kind  of  Instrument  the  country 
people  dance  to,  being  a  round,  flat  frame  of  wood,  with  both  sides  covered 
with  parchment  like  a  drum,  not  above  six  inches  diameter,  and  not  above 
two  inches  between  the  parchments,  and  round  the  frame  horse-bells  or  loose 
brass  plates  are  set;  this  they  shake  with  the  one  hand  and  strike  it  with 
the  other  to  make  a  rustical  musick."  (Delpino's  Spanish  Dictionary,  Lon- 
don, 1758.) 

*  Sanchez- Arjona,  Anales,  p.  77. 
*Ibid.,  p.  81. 


c 


68  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

ers,  with  living  birds,  "according  to  the  custom  of  the 
Italians,"  with  music  and  ballads  "in  the  sacred  style,"  took 
part.*  For  a  dance  at  the  Corpus  festival  of  1609  the 
Villa  de  Madrid  paid  1550  reals  to  Andres  de  Najera. 
This  was  a  danza  de  cascabel,  entitled  "The  dance  of  Gay- 
feros  and  rescue  of  Melisendra,"  to  consist  of  nine  per- 
sonages: "four  Frenchmen,  four  Moors,  and  the  infanta 
Melisendra;  also  an  enchanted  castle,  a  horse  of  painted 
pasteboard  (papelon)^  and  Don  Gayferos."  A  descrip- 
tion of  the  rich  costumes  of  the  dancers  follows,  and  we 
are  told  that  the  castle  is  to  be  provided  with  hinges,  so 
that  it  may  be  opened  where  desired.^  In  161 1  there  is 
mentioned  a  "Dance  of  King  Alonso,"^  and  in  1623  a 
dance  called  "The  History  of  the  Marquis  of  Canete." 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  82.  For  other  dances  at  the  Corpus  festival  at 
Madrid  in  the  closing  years  of  the  sixteenth  century,  see  below,  pp.  74,  75. 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  113.  "Las  danzas  de  cascabel  eran  para 
gente  que  puede  salir  i.  danzar  por  las  calles.  Y  hubiera  sido  indecente 
que  asistiesen  £  ellas  los  maestros.  Era  danza  muy  diversa  de  la  de  cuenta 
que  era  para  Principes  y  gente  de  reputaci.on."  {Don  Quixote,  ed.  Clemen- 
cin,  Vol.  VI,  p.  273.)  Clemencin's  source  for  this  statement  was  probably 
Juan  de  Esquivel,  Discursos  sobre  el  Arte  del  danzado,  Sevilla,  1642,  who 
tells  us  that  Philip  IV.  was  extremely  fond  of  dancing:  "El  Rey  nuestro 
Senor,  k  cuya  obediencia  se  postran  los  dilatados  t6rminos  del  mundo, 
aprendio  este  arte,  y  quando  le  obra,  es  con  ia  mayor  eminencia,  gala  y 
sazon  que  puede  percibir  la  imaginacion  mas  atenta."  He  mentions  the  most 
famous  dancing-masters  of  the  time,  among  them  Antonio  de  Almenda,  of 
Madrid,  Philip's  teacher,  Jose  Rodriguez  Tirado  of  Seville,  Antonio  de 
Burgos,  Juan  de  Pastrana,  and  others.  On  f  ol.  30,  v.,  he  says  that  "jdcara, 
rastro,  zarabanda  y  tarraga  son  una  misma  cosa."  He  always  speaks 
with  contempt  of  the  "bailes  populares,  a  los  que  llaman  danzas,"  as  un- 
worthy of  gentlemen.  On  fol.  44,  v.,  he  says :  "Todos  los  maestros  aborrecen 
i.  los  de  las  danzas  de  cascabel,  y  con  mucha  razon  porque  es  muy  distinta 
i  la  de  quenia  y  de  muy  inferior  lugar,  y  ansi  ningun  maestro  de  reputacion 
y  con  escuela  abierta,  se  ha  hallado  jamas  en  semejantes  chapandacas  y  si 
alguno  lo  ha  hecho,  no  habri  sido  teniendo  escuela,  ni  llegado  i  noticia  de 
sus  discipulos,  porque  el  que  lo  supiese  rehusari  serlo  de  alii  adelante, 
porque  la  danza  de  cascabel  es  para  gente  que  puede  salir  A  dan<;ar  por  las 
calles,  y  i  estas  danzas  llama  por  gracejo  Francisco  Ramos,  la  tarasca  del 
dia  de  Dios,"  etc.  (Gayangos,  in  the  Spanish  translation  of  Ticknor's 
History,  Tomo  III,  p.  458.) 

*  This  seems  to  have  been  a  very  ancient  dance.  Cervantes  alludes  to  it 
at  the  close  of  his  entremes  El  Rufian  <viudo  as : 

"El  Rey  don  Alonso  el  Bueno, 
Gloria  de  la  antiguedad." 


BAYLES  69 

In  1634  costumes  were  hired  from  Alonso  de  la  Vega, 
autor  de  comedias,  for  a  dance  In  the  town  of  Mejorada, 
the  sum  paid  being  150  reals,  besides  a  skin  (bota)  of  wine 
of  half  a  gallon,  and  a  hen,  "which  are  to  be  presented 
to  the  said  autor  by  the  mayordomos  of  the  Lady  of  the 
Rosary  of  the  said  town";^  and  in  1637  we  read  of  a 
sword  dance  (danza  de  espadas)  to  be  performed  in  the 
town  of  Valdemoro.^ 

Dances  or  bayles,  and  short  interludes,  called  entre- 
meses,  were  inseparable  from  the  comedia.  Most  of  the 
players  in  a  theatrical  company,  as  already  observed,  also 
sang  and  danced,  besides  acting  in  the  comedia,  and  many 
of  the  contracts  between  manager  and  player  stipulate 
that  the  player  is  to  act,  sing,  and  dance  (pararepresentar, 
cantar  y  bailar) .  Of  the  nature  of  these  bayles  we  know 
very  little,  except  that  many  of  them  were  deshonestos.^ 
They  were  always  accompanied  by  words  or  by  singing;* 
the  three  or  four  most  celebrated  bayles,  at  least,  having 
each  its  particular  air,  to  which  the  later  ones  were  often 
sung.  They  were  frequently  of  such  a  loose  and  licentious 
nature  that  they  caused  great  scandal  and  obliged  the 

It  is  mentioned  in  the  Tragicomedia  de  Lysandro  y  Roselia  (Salamanca ( ?), 
1542).  See  Coleccion  de  Libros  espanoles  raros  6  curiosos.  Vol.  Ill,  Madrid, 
1872,  p.  225,  and  Pellicer's  note  to  his  edition  of  Don  Quixote,  Madrid, 
1797,  Vol.  IV,  p.  102. 

^  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  238. 

*On  the  danza  de  espadas,  see  Leon-Pinelo,  Velos  antiguos  y  modernos, 
Madrid,  1641,  fol.  112,  v. 

'  Gonzales  de  Salas  makes  the  following  distinction  between  damas  and 
bailes:  "Dances  are  measured  and  grave  movements  in  which  the  arms  are 
not  used,  but  the  feet  only.  Bailes  admit  of  freer  gestures  of  the  arms  and 
feet  at  the  same  time."  {Nueva  Idea  de  la  Tragedia  antigua,  Madrid, 
1778,  p.  171.)  See,  however,  Pellicer's  note  to  Don  Quixote,  Pt.  II,  chap. 
xlviii,  on  the  distinction  between  bailar  and  danzar. 

*"Assi  tambien  lo  vemos  en  nuestros  Theatros,  pues  unas  veces 
Danzan  i  Bailan  solo  al  son  de  los  instrumentos,  i  otras  veces  al  son  de  lo 
que  con  los  instrumentos  cantan  las  voces.  I  lo  que  mas  es,  los  mismos 
que  danzan  i  bailan,  cantan  juntamente,  primor  i  elegancia  en  estos  ultimos 
anos  [before  1633]  introducida,  i  sumamente  dificultosa,  siendo  fuerza  que 
estorbe,  para  la  ooncentuosa  harmonia  de  la  voz,  el  espiritu  alterado  i  de- 
fectuoso  con  los  ajitados  movimientos."     (Gonzales  de  Salas,  ibid.,  p.  173.) 


70  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

authorities  to  intervene  and  suppress  them.^  Of  these 
bayles  the  most  famous  as  well  as  the  most  voluptuous  and 
indecent,  it  seems,  was  the  Zarahanda,  first  introduced 
about  1588,  according  to  Pellicer. 

The  earliest  authentic  date  that  I  have  found  for  the 
Zarahanda  is  contained  in  the  Cancionero  Classense,  from 
which  excerpts  and  a  complete  list  of  contents  have  been 
published  by  Professor  Restori.^  Thi«  Cancionero  was 
copied  by  Alongo  de  Nabarete  of  Pisa  in  Madrid,  in  1589. 
On  fol.  94,  v.,  we  read: 

La  Qarahanda: 
ha.  ^arabanda  esta  presa 

que  dello  mucho  me  pesa 

que  merece  ser  condesa 

y  tambien  emperadora 

"J  la  perra  mora!    A  la  matadora!"^ 

^  It  is  well  known  that  the  Elizabethan  plays  generally  began  with  a 
prologue  and  ended  with  a  "jig,"  which  has  been  described  as  a  "dramatic 
performance  in  rime,  every  part  of  which  was  sung  by  the  performers,  and 
one  which  was  frequently  exhibited  on  the  stage  as  an  afterpiece,  as  farces 
are  at  present."  (Ward,  History  of  English  Dramatic  Literature,  Vol.  I, 
p.  476.    See  also  Collier,  Annals,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  376  ff.) 

^  Cancionero  Classense,  Roma,  1902. 

^This  shows,  moreover,  that  the  bayle  entitled  La  Perra  Mora  and  also 
La  Matador  a  were  then  well  known,  and  as  Professor  Restori  remarks  that 
there  are  "30  strofe  con  vari  ritornelli,"  it  is  very  probable  that  many  other 
bayles  current  at  the  time  are  mentioned  in  these  refrains.  Three  bayles 
by  Quinones  de  Benavente  are  published  among  his  Entremeses.  They 
generally  contain  about  a  hundred  verses  or  less,  and  are  danced  by  two 
men  and  two  women  and  a  gracioso,  or  three  men,  three  women,  and  a 
gracioso.  A  Bayle  famoso  del  Cauallero  de  Olmedo,  compuesto  por  Lope  de 
Vega,  is  printed  at  the  end  of  Lope's  Comedias,  Part  VII,  Barcelona,  1617, 
made  up,  in  no  small  part,  of  snatches  from  the  old  popular  ballads. 

In  Cervantes's  entremes  La  Cueua  de  Salamanca,  near  the  end,  we  are 
told  that  the  Zarabanda  and  other  bayles  were  invented  in  hell : 

Pancracio:  "Digame  seiior  mio,  pues  los  diablos  lo  saben  todo  i  donde  se 
inuentaron  todos  estos  bayles  de  las  zarauandas,  zambapalo,  y  dello  me 
pesa,  con  el  famoso  del  nueuo  escarraman?  Barbero:  Adonde  ?  en  el  in- 
fierno,  alii  tuuieron  su  origen  y  principio."  (Oc/io  Comedias  y  ocho  Entre- 
meses nueuos,  etc.,  Madrid,  1615,  fol.  252,  v.)  Many  of  the  dramatists 
wrote  bayles,  and  they  are  found  in  nearly  all  the  collections  of  en- 
tremeses published  in  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
little  volume  called  Migaxas  del  Ingenio  contains  several  by  Lanini, 
among  them  a  "baile  cantado." 


THE  Z  ARAB  AN  DA  71 

Much  has  been  written  about  this  dance;  all  agree  that  it 
was  "pestiferous,"  and  perhaps  this  ought  to  suffice.^  It 
is  therefore  most  strange  that,  in  spite  of  its  notorious 
immorality,  the  Zarabanda  should  have  been  danced  at 
the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi  in  Seville  in  1593,  when 
the  autos  were  represented  by  the  company  of  the  cele- 
brated Jeronimo  Velazquez.^  Many  were  the  remon- 
strances against  this  dance,  especially  by  churchmen.^  The 
Zarabanda  was  followed  by  other  and,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
not  much  more  decorous  dances.*     Among  the  most  cele- 

^  Alonso  Lopez  gives  a  description  of  the  Zarabanda  as  he  saw  it  danced 
in  the  house  of  his  friend  Fadrique.  There  he  saw  "una  mo^a  de  buen 
talle,  y  a  una  vieja  de  feo  y  pesimo.  La  mo;a  se  inclino  hazia  el  un  lado 
del  suelo,  y  al(6  una  vihuela,  y  comengo  a  cantar,  y  cantando,  acabo  uno 
y  otro  romance  viejo;  tan  bien,  que  el  Pinciano  quedo  a  ella  honestamente 
aficionado,  que  hasta  entonces  parecian  las  mugeres,  la  una,  una  sancta 
Monica;  y  la  otra  una  sancta  Anastasia:  pero  poco  despues  descubrieron  la 
hilaza  (como  dizen)  que  la  que  parecia  antes  Anastasia,  se  troco  en  Satha- 
nas,  y  la  Monica  en  Demonica  f  ue  conuertida :  porque  se  levanto  la  una,  y  la 
otra  de  la  mesa,  y  la  mo^a  con  su  vihuela  dan<;ando  y  cantando,  y  la  vieja 
con  una  guitarra  cantando  y  dangando,  dixeron  de  aquellas  suzias  bocas  mil 
porquerias,  esfor^andolas  con  los  instrumentos,  y  mouimientos  de  sus  cuerpos 
poco  castos.  Tal  fue  la  dissolucion,  que  los  tres  hombres,  que  solos  eran, 
estauan  corridos  y  afrentados."  (Philosophia  antigua  poetica,  Madrid, 
1596,  P-  419-)  See  also,  on  the  Zarabanda,  the  interesting  note  of  Bonilla  y 
San  Martin  in  his  edition  of  Guevara's  Diablo  Cojuelo,  Vigo,  1902,  pp.  140, 
141,  and  the  learned  dissertation  on  this  and  other  dances  by  Rodriguez 
Marin,  El  Loaysa  de  "El  Celoso  Extremeho"  Sevilla,  1901,  pp.  256-288. 

*  Sanchez- Arjona,  Anales,  p.  85. 

'  See  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Bibliografla  de  las  Controversias  sobre  la  Licitud 
del  Teatro  en  Espana,  Madrid,  1904,  pp.  375  ff.,  an  excellent  work. 

*The  historian  Mariana  inhis  treatise  Contra  los  Juegos  publicos  devotes 
a  whole  chapter  (xii)  to  the  baile  y  cantar  llamado  Zarabanda.  He  is 
scathing  in  his  denunciation  of  this  dance,  which  he  says  was  danced  in 
one  of  the  most  illustrious  cities  of  Spain  in  the  procession  and  festival  of 
Corpus  Christi:  "Sabemos  por  cierta  haberse  danzado  este  baile  en  una  de 
las  mas  ilustres  ciudades  de  Espana,  en  la  misma  procesion  y  fiesta  del 
santisirao  Sacramento  del  cuerpo  de  Cristo,  nuestro  Senor,  dando  a  su 
Majestad  humo  d  narices  con  lo  que  piensan  honralle.  Poco  es  esto:  despues 
sabemos  que  en  la  mesma  ciudad,  en  di versos  monesterios  de  monjas  y  en 
la  mesma  f estividad  se  hizo,  no  solo  este  son  y  baile,  sino  los  meneos  tan 
torpes,  que  fue  menester  se  cubriesen  los  ojos  las  personas  honestas  que  alii 
estaban."  {Biblioieca  de  Autores  Espanoles,  Vol.  XXXI,  p.  433.)  In  this 
Mariana  is  supported  by  the  evidence  of  Cervantes,  cited  in  the  text. 
Ticknor  also  mentions  a  performance  of  the  Count  of  Lemos's  comedia  La 
Casa  confusa,  now  lost,  which  was  given  in  the  church  of  San  Bias  at 


72  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

brated  were  the  Chacona  and  the  Escarraman.  Cervantes 
and  Lope  de  Vega  were  both  great  admirers  of  the  popular 
dances,  and  the  former  has  introduced  a  chacona  in  his 
novel  The  Illustrious  Kitchen-maid,  which  is  danced  by 
muleteers  and  Galician  girls,  the  refrain  of  which  is: 

The  Chacona  is  a  treasure: 
Makes  of  life  a  real  pleasure. 

The  third  stanza  is  as  follows:^ 

Oft  that  noble  dame  Chacona, 

With  the  Saraband  allied, 
Has  put  our  carking  cares  to  rout 

And  the  black  bitch  has  defied. 
Oft  Chacona  makes  its  entry 

Through  the  chinks  of  convent  cell, 
And  that  tranquil  virtue  flutters 

Which  in  sacred  haunt  should  dwell. 
Often  those  who  most  admire  it 

Rail  against  Chacona's  charm, 
For  the  fool  is  ever  eager, 

And  the  loose  imagine  harm,  etc.^ 

But  the  Chacona  and  the  Escarraman  were  no  less  vigor- 
ously opposed  by  the  clergy  than  the  Zarabanda  had  been. 

Lerma,  before  Philip  III.  and  his  court  in  1618,  ending  with  "the  scandalous 
and  voluptuous  dance  of  the  Zarabanda."  {History  of  Spanish  Literature, 
Vol.  II,  p.  519,  note.)  This  also  shows  that  the  dance  continued  in  vogue 
despite  all  opposition.  In  fact,  as  Pellicer  (Vol.  I,  p.  138)  says:  "la  Zara- 
banda quedo  tan  mal  muerta  que  aun  vivia  y  pirueteaba  en  los  Corrales  de 
Madrid  el  ano  de  1640." 

*  Cervantes,  The  Exemplary  Novels,  translated  by  N.  Maccoll,  Glasgow, 
Gowans  &  Gray,  1902,  V^ol.  I,  p.  55. 

"'Que  de  veces  ha  intentado 
Aquesta  noble  senora 
Con  la  alegre  Zarabanda, 
El  pesame,  y  perra  mora 
Entrarse  por  los  resquicios 
De  las  casas  religiosas,"  etc. 

It  should  be  observed  here  that  the  pesame  and  the  perra  mora  were  also 
bayles.  The  Escarraman  is  danced  in  Cervantes's  entrcmes  entitled  El 
Rufian  biudo. 


THE  CHACONA 


73 


\  In  1 6 13  we  find  the  Catalan  Jesuit,  P.  Juan  Ferrer, 
\  speaking  of  them  in  these  terms:  *'In  a  certain  city  in 
1  Spain  there  was  current  at  one  time  one  of  those  songs 
I  which  they  call  the  chacona,  of  such  licentiousness  that  it 
/  created  the  greatest  scandal,  and  now  there  are  songs  which 

/  they  call  escarraman,  sung  in  this  city  [Barcelona],  that 

I  have  been  produced  in  the  theaters  with  such  lewdness  that 
even  the  admirers  of  the  comedia  were  scandalized  thereby, 

\  and  many  left  the  theater  to  avoid  hearing  them."* 

Besides  the  three  bayles  or  dances  just  mentioned,  which 

*  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  p.  253.  The  Chacona  is  defined  as  a 
"Son  6  tanido  que  se  toca  en  varios  instrumentos,  al  cual  se  baila  una  danza 
de  cuenta  con  las  castanetas,  rauy  airosa  y  vistosa,  que  no  solo  se  balla  en 
Espana  en  los  festines,  sino  que  de  ella  la  han  tornado  otras  naciones,  y  le 
dan  este  mismo  nombre."  {Die.  de  Aut.)  In  the  very  rare  volume,  "Norte 
de  la  Poesia  Espanola  ilustrado  del  Sol  de  doze  Comedias  {que  forman 
Segunda  Parte)  de  laureados  Poetas  Valendanos,  etc.  Ano  161 6.  Impreso 
en  Valencia:  En  la  Impresion  de  Felipe  Mey,"  there  are  found,  at  the  end 
of  Ricardo  de  Turia's  comedia  La  Fe  pagada,  "tres  famosas  Chaconas  para 
cantar,"  of  which  the  first  is  as  follows : 


"Assi  <vida,  vida  bona, 
tnda  vamonos  a  Chacona. 
Acuerdome  un  tiempo  quando 
dulce,  y  amada  Senora, 
la  noche  me  hallo  en  tus  bragos, 
y  en  ellos  el  Alba  hermosa. 

Y  en  medio  destos  contentos, 
aunque  mejor  diria  glorias, 
con  la  grana  de  tus  labios 
mescle  mis  dos  amapolas. 

Y  aunque  acertaron  a  hallarse 
dos  lenguas  en  cada  boca, 

en  un  profundo  silencio 

pasamos  la  noche  toda. 

Ay  quanto  un  amor  se  aumenta, 

y  una  aficion  se  acrisola 

entre  sauanas  suaues, 

y  entre  las  obscuras  sombras. 

AlH  en  bonanga  tranquila 

olas  de  estorbos  se  cortan, 

ios  uracanes  de  celos 

su  fuerga,  y  poder  aflojan. 

Los  escollos  de  desdenes 

en  dulce  puerto  se  toman, 

y  los  baxios  de  ausencia 

del  gran  Neptuno  en  la  concha. 


Y  con  tener  sesgo  el  mar, 
y  tener  el  viento  en  popa, 
no  nauega  mal  quien  puede 
nauegar  legua  por  hora. 
Que  del  trabajo  del  vase 
por  ser  materia  porosa, 
Sudan  mastiles  y  jarcias, 
y  los  velames  se  mojan. 
Que  en  semejante  ocasion 
sudaran  hasta  las  rocas; 
tal  es  el  dulce  trabajo, 
y  la  apacible  congoja. 
Los  prosperos  vientos  cesan, 
y  asesan  con  vozes  roncas 
los  pechos  que  el  pecho  dieron 
al  agua  del  amor  sabrosa. 
Falta  el  viento,  y  el  aliento 
antes  de  salir  se  ahoga, 
quedando  el  Vagel  rendido 
en  una  calma  amorosa, 
hasta  que  refresca  el  viento, 
y  la  gente  se  alboroga, 
continuando  el  viage 
hasta  arribar  a  las  costas. 
Asi  vida,  vida  bona,"  etc. 


74  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

were  the  most  popular,  Pellicer  mentions  a  number  of  other 
"bayles  antiguos" :  the  Turdion,  Pavana,  Madama  Or- 
Itens,  Pie  de  gibao,  Rey  Don  Alonso  el  Bueno,  etc.,  and  of 
what  he  calls  the  "populares  y  truanescos,"  he  gives  a  long 
list,  including  the  Carreteria,  Hermano  Bartolo,  Polio, 
Perra  Mora,  Canario,^  etc.  That  these  dances  were  in 
vogue  at  about  the  same  time  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 
Canario,  Rey  Don  Alonso  el  Bueno,  Coscolina,  Repulida, 
Pizpita,  Chiquinaque,  Mostrenca,  Juan  Claros  el  galan, 
Zambapalo,  Pesame  dello,  Gallarda,  Villano,  and  others 
are  mentioned  by  Cervantes  in  the  Escarraman  which  he 
has  introduced  into  his  interlude  El  Rufian  biudo.^ 

Many  other  curious  dances  are  mentioned  by  Perez 
Pastor,  which  were  performed  at  the  Corpus  Christi  fes- 
tival in  Madrid:  in  1584  the  Danza  de  Radamante, 
Reinaldos,  Roldan,  Oliveros  and  Montesinos,  and  the 
Llegada  de  Eneas  a  Cartago;^  in  1592  the  Danza  de  sets 
Abestruces  y  sets  Muchachos  zapateadores  and  the  Danza 
de  la  Recuperacion  de  Espana;*  in  1596  the  Danza  del 
Robo  de  Elena  and  Danza  de  Villanos  y  Villanas;^  in 

^  Tratado  historico,  Vol.  I,  p.  126,  and  p.  137  for  a  long  list  of  bayles  that 
were  danced  to  the  air  of  the  Zarabanda. 

^Lope  de  Vega  laments  the  disappearance  of  these  old  dances,  and 
mentions  another,  La  Alemana:  "se  van  oluidandose  .  .  .  las  dan^as 
antiguas,  con  estas  acciones  gesticulares,  y  mouimientos  lasciuos  de  las 
Chaconas,  en  tanta  ofensa  de  la  virtud  de  la  castidad,  y  el  decoroso 
silencio  de  las  damas.  Ay  de  ti  Alemana,  y  Pie  de  Gibao,  que  tantos 
anos  estuuistes  honrando  los  saraos!"  {La  Dorotea,  Madrid,  1632,  Act  I, 
Scene  VII,  fol.  40.)  Gongora,  in  one  of  his  ballads,  says  there  is  no  dance 
like  the  Gallarda: 

"Que  quiere  dona  Maria 
Ver  bailar  k  dona  Juana 
Una  Gallarda  espanola, 
Que  no  hay  danza  mas  gallarda." 

The  stately  gravity  with  which  the  Gallarda  was  danced  is  described  at 
some  length  by  Calderon  in  his  El  Maestro  de  Danzar,  Jornada  II,  Scene 
XXV.  See  Monreal,  Cuadros  viejos,  Madrid,  1878,  p.  85.  In  a  French 
work  on  dancing,  Arbeau's  Or  che  so  graphic,  published  at  Magon  in  1588, 
the  Tordion  and  Gaillard  are  described  as  being  danced  exactly  alike. 
See  Shakespeare's  Much  Ado  about  Nothing,  ed.  by  Dr.  Horace  Howard 
Furness,  Philadelphia,  p.  65,  note  69. 

^  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  15.  *  Ibid.,  p.  33.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  43. 


DAN Z AS  HABLADAS  75 

1598  a  Danza  de  Portugueses ;^  in  1599  a  Danza  de 
veintequatro  Sdtiros  y  Fdbulas  y  un  Sileno,  danced  on  the 
occasion  of  the  entrance  of  the  Queen  into  Madrid.^  I 
presume  that  these  were  all  what  were  called  "Danzas 
habladas."3 

It  appears  that  down  to  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury and  perhaps  even  later,  these  dances  at  the  Corpus 
festivals  were  performed  and  the  expenses  were  borne  by 
the  various  guilds.  In  March,  1599,  there  was  an  agree- 
ment between  the  company  of  tavern-keepers  (gremio  de 
taberneros)  and.Jusepe  de  las  Cuevas  to  represent  the 
*'danza  de  los  caballeros  para  la  entrada  de  la  Reina"  ;^ 
and  in  April  of  the  same  year  Juan  Granado  is  to  give  the 
dance  La  Boda  a  lo  sayagiies  by  order  of  the  blacksmiths, 
and  the  Danza  de  los  Dioses,  to  be  paid  for  by  the  shoe- 
makers, and  the  Danza  de  la  Pandorga,  performed  by  the 
joiners  and  inn-keepers  (cajoneros  y  mesoneros).^  Be- 
sides, the  "gremios"  or  guilds  of  "cabestreros,  esparteros, 
zurradores,"  and  "curtidores"  represented  dances  at 
Corpus  in  Madrid  in  1599.^ 

*  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  48. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  349. 

'  See  Don  Quixote,  Part  II,  chap,  xx,  and  Clemencin's  note.  Delpino  de- 
lines  a  Danza  hablada  as  "a  dance  composed  of  many  persons,  with  dresses 
suitable  to  represent  any  passage  in  history."     {Spanish  Dictionary,  London, 

1758.)  .  ,      . 

*  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  49.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  50.  Ibid. 


CHAPTER  V 

The  staging  of  the  comedia.  English  court  plays.  The  Entertain- 
ing Journey  of  Rojas.  Alonso  Lopez  Pinciano  on  staging.  The 
stage.  The  curtain.  Scenerj'.  Stage  machinery.  Apariencias. 
Tramoyas.    The  French  stage.    Private  representations. 

In  any  discussion  of  the  stage  or  scenic  arrangements  of 
the  early  Spanish  theater  the  distinction  between  autos  and 
other  festival  or  court  performances,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
those  which  took  place  in  the  public  corrales,  on  the  other, 
must  always  be  borne  in  mind.  In  the  former,  as  al- 
ready observed,  there  was  often  an  elaborate  display 
of  scenery  and  ornamentation  even  before  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  while  the  public  theaters  or 
corrales  were  almost  destitute  of  scenery,  In  our  ac- 
ceptation of  the  word.  And  this,  we  know,  was  also 
the  case  In  England  In  Shakespeare's  tlme.^  Cunning- 
ham ^  gives  some  curious  Information  concerning  the 
private  representations  at  the  English  court.  As  early  as 
157 1,  after  mentioning  several  plays,  the  last  of  which  is 
Paris  and  Vienna,  "shewen  on  Shrovetewsdale  at  night  by 
the  children  of  Westminster,"  we  read:  "All  whiche  vl 
playes  being  chosen  owte  of  many  and  ffownde  to  be  the 
best  that  then  were  to  be  had;  the  same  also  being  often 
perused  and  necessarely  corrected  &  amended  by  all  thaf- 
forselde  officers.  Then  they  being  so  orderly  addressed, 
were  likewise  throwghly  apparelled  &  furnished  with  sun- 

^See  the  interesting  articles  by  G.  F.  Reynolds  in  Modern  Philology, 
Vols.  II  and  III  (1904-5)- 

*  Extracts  from  the  Accounts  of  the  Revels  at  Court,  London  (Shakespeare 
Society),  1842. 

76 


ENGLISH  COURT  PLAYS  77 

dry  kindes  and  sutes  of  Apparell  &  furniture,  ffltted  and 
garnished  necessarely  &  answerable  to  the  matter,  person 
&  parte  to  be  played.  Having  also  apt  howses,  made  of 
canvasse,  fframed,  ffashioned  &  paynted  accordingly  as 
might  best  serve  theier  severall  purposes"  (p.  13). 

1573  (it  may  be  noted  that  in  this  year  Italian  players 
are  mentioned  at  Windsor,  ibid.,  p.  79)  :  "Mrs.  Dane  for 
Canvas  to  paynte  for  howses  for  the  players  &  for  other 
properties  as  Monsters,  great  hollow  trees  &  suche  other," 
etc.  (p.  54)- 

1574:  There  is  frequent  mention  of  frames  and  canvas 
as  early  as  this  year,  and  also  the  following  entry:  "Pulleys 
for  the  Clowdes  and  curteynes  .  .  .  Bubble  gyrte  to 
hange  the  soon  in  the  clowde,"  etc.  (p.  90). 

1578:  "For  a  hoope  and  blewe  Lynnen  cloth  to  mend 
the  clowde  that  was  borrowed  and  cut  to  serve  the  rock 
in  the  play  of  The  burnyng  Knight,"  etc.  (p.  147). 

1579:  "The  History  of  Serpedon  shewen  at  Whitehall 
on  Shrovetewesdaye  at  night  enacted  by  the  Lord  Cham- 
berleyns  servants  wholly  furnyshed  in  this  office  whereon 
was  ymployed  for  head  attyres  for  women  and  Scarfes  xi 
ells  of  Sarcenett,  a  greate  Cittie,  a  wood,  a  castell  and  vi 
payre  of  gloves"  (p.  156).  Colors  for  painting  scenery 
are  mentioned  in  this  year :  "William  Lyzarde  for  sondry 
things  by  him  browght  into  the  office.  Syse,  cullers,  pottes, 
nayles  and  pensills  used  and  occupyed  upon  the  payntinge 
of  vii  Cities,  one  villadge,  one  Country  howse,  one  battle- 
ment, iiii  axes,  a  Braunche,  lillyes,  and  a  mount  for  Christ- 
mas iii  Holidaies"  (p. 162). 

1580:  "A  Storie  of  Pompey,  enacted  in  the  hall 
[Whitehall],  on  twelfnighte  whereon  was  ymployed  newe, 
one  great  citty,  a  senate  howse,  and  eight  ells  of  double 
sarcenet  for  curtens  and  xviii  paire  of  gloves"   (p.  167). 

1 584 :  "  The  History  of  Felix  &'  Philomena  shewed  and 
enacted  before  her  highnes  by  her  Ma***  servauntes  on  the 
sondaie  next  after  neweyeares  daie,  at  night  at  Grenewiche, 


78  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

whereon  was  ymploied  one  battlement  &  a  house  of  can- 
vas." Lastly,  in  the  same  year  we  read:  "A  pastorall  of 
Phillyda  &'  Choryn  .  .  .  whereon  was  ymployed  .  .  . 
one  greate  curteyne  and  scarfs  for  the  nymphes,  one  moun- 
tayne  and  one  greate  cloth  of  Canvas"  (p.  i88). 

All  these  were  court  performances  and  had  nothing  to 
do^wlth  the  public  theaters  in  England,  which  at  this  time 
had  probably  advanced  no  further  than  those  of  Spain. 
To  these  we  now  return. 

There  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  down  to  about  the 
last  decade  of  the  sixteenth  century  (i.e.,  even  a  few  years 
after  Lope  de  Vega  had  begun  to  write  for  the  stage)  the 
public  theaters  of  Madrid  possessed  only  the  most  primi- 
tive stage  machinery  and  appliances,  and  no  scenery  in  our 
sense  of  the  word.  This  view,  however,  is  not  in  accord 
with  an  opinion  expressed  by  Schack,  though  this  dis- 
tinguished writer's  other  statements  upon  the  subject 
can  hardly  be  reconciled  with  the  assertion  to  which 
^  we  refer,  which  is  as  follows :  "According  to  Rojas, 
therefore,  the  improvements  in  scenic  arrangements  had 
progressed  to  such  an  extent  by  about  1580  that  come- 
dias  were  performed  in  which  were  represented  mirac- 
ulous visions,  artistically  contrived  scenes,  and  alarms 
j  of  war,  and  even  horses  were  brought  upon  the  stage."  ^ 
Schack  bases  this  statement  upon  the  following  lines  of 
the  "Loa  de  la  Comedia"  contained  in  the  Viage  etitre- 
tenido  of  Rojas:  "Now  they  made  inflated  verses,  wore 
costumes  of  cloth,  satin,  and  velvet,  and  silken  stockings. 
They  wrote  [comedias]  in  three  acts  and  introduced 
challenges;  they  sang  by  two  and  threes,  and  women 
acted.  The  time  arrived  wh^n^comedias  de  apariencias 
(i.e.,  with  scenic  effects)  and  lives  of  saints  and  plays  with 

^  "So  war,  nach  Rojas,  die  Vervollkommnung  der  scenischen  Vorrich- 
tungen  um  1580  schon  so  weit  gediehen  dasz  man  Comodien  mit  Wunderer- 
scheinungen,  Coulissenkiinsten  und  Kriegslarm  auffiihrte  und  sogar  Pferde 
auf  die  Biihne  brachte."  {Geschichte  der  dramatischen  Literatur  u.  Kunst 
in  Spanien,  Vol.  I,  p.  308.) 


AGUSTIN  DE  ROJAS  79 

stage  machinery  came  into  vogue,  and  among  these,  farces 
in  which  battles  were  represented.  Pedro  Diaz  then  wrote 
his  comedia  El  Rosario,  which  was  good,  and  Alonso 
Diaz  his  San  Antonio,  and  finally  there  was  not  a  poet  in 
Seville  who  did  not  write  a  comedia  about  some  saint. 
Then  they  sang  by  threes  and  fours ;  the  women  were  beau- 
tiful and  dressed  in  male  attire,  and  gallantly  and  well 
made  up  they  stepped  upon  the  stage,  adorned  with  pearls 
and  chains  of  gold.  Now  horses  were  brought  upon  the 
stage,  a  feat  never  seen  until  this  time,  nor  was  this  the 
least  of  them.  All  these  things  passed  away,  and  then 
came  our  day,  which  may  be  called  the  Golden  Age,  to 
judge  by  the  point  reached  by  comedias,  actors,  plots, 
conceits,  epigrams,  inventions,  novelties.  .  .  .  What,  that 
has  not  already  been  done,  can  they  do  who  come  after  us? 
What  can  they  invent  that  is  not  already  invented?"  etc.* 
Important  as  the  Viage  entretenido  is  in  many  respects, 

'After  mentioning  Artieda's  Los  Encantos  de  Merlin  (now  lost),  Luper- 
cio's  tragedies,  the  Semiramis  of  Virues,  and  the  Conde  Loco  oi  Morales 
(v.  Barrera,  Catdlogo,  pp.  517,  col.  i,  and  527),  Rojas  continues: 

"Hacian  versos  hinchados,  Vestianse  en  habito  de  hombre, 

Ya  usaban  sayos  de  telas  Y  bizarras  y  compuestas, 

De  raso,  de  terciopelo,  A  representar  salian 

Y  algunas  medias  de  seda.  Con  cadenas  de  oro  y  perlas. 
Ya  se  hacian  tres  jornadas,  Sacabanse  ya  caballos 

Y  echaban  retos  en  ellas,  A  los  teatros,  grandeza 
Cantaban  a  dos  y  a  tres,  Nunca  vista  hasta  este  tiempo, 

Y  representaban  hembras.  Que  no  fue  la  menor  de  ellas. 
Llego  el  tiempo  que  se  usaron              En  efecto  este  paso, 

Las  comedias  de  apariencias,  Llego  el  nuestro,  que  pudiera 

De  Santos  y  de  tramoyas,  Llaraarse  el  tiempo  dorado, 

Y  entre  estas  farsas  de  guerras,  Segun  al  punto  en  que  llegan 
Hizo  Pedro  Diaz  entonces  Comedias,  representantes. 

La  del  Rosario,  y  fue  buena,  Trazas,  conceptos,  sentencias, 

San  Antonio  Alonso  Diaz,  Inventivas,  novedades,  .  .  . 

Y  al  fin  no  quedo  poeta  

En  Sevilla  que  no  hiciese  i  Que  haran  los  que  vinieren 

De  algun  santo  su  comedia:  Que  no  sea  cosa  hecha? 

Cantabanse  a  tres  y  a  quatro,        ,;  Que  inventaran,  que  no  este 
Eran  las  mugeres  bellas,  Ya  inventado?  cosa  es  cierta,"  etc. 

{El  Viage  entretenido,  Madrid,  1603,  pp.  127,  128.) 

Rojas  then  mentions  the  appearance  of  Lope  de  Vega,  La  fenix  de  nuestros 
tiempos,  and  after  him  El  Divino  Miguel  Sanchez. 


8o  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

it-was  not  the  purpose  of  its  author  to  write  a  history  of 
the  Spanish  stage.  It  was  composed,  as  the  title  indicates, 
for  the  mere  entertainment  and  pastime  of  the  reader. 
|JiojaSi  in  all  probability,  took  no  great  pains  to  be  precise 
aftd  accurate  in  his  statements.  What  he  wrote  slipped 
from  his  pen  without  much  thought  of  chronology. 
His  statements  should  not  be  taken  al  pie  de  la  letra. 
Moreover,  his  experience  on  the  stage  was  limited, 
according  to  his  own  statement,  to  about  three  years. 
Of  Pedro  Diaz  and  his  comedia  El  Rosario,  mentioned  by 
Rojas,  we  know  nothing,  but  Alonso  Diaz  is  said  by 
Sanchez-Arjona  {Anales,  p.  86)  to  be  the  author  of  an 
auto  entitled  Santa  Maria  Egipciaca,  for  which  he  received 
thirty  ducats  when  it  was  represented  by  the  company  of 
Caspar  de  Porres  at  Seville  in  1594.  Alonso  I)iaz  was, 
therefore,  a  contemporary  of  Lope  de  Vega.  His  San 
Antonio  was  doubtless  one  of  that  large  class  of  comedias 
de  Santos  which  greatly  depend  for  their  effect  on  the  use 
of  apariencias  and  tratnoyas,  quite  primitive  stage  ma- 
chinery at  that  time,  we  may  be  sure.  As  Morel-Fatio 
says:  "Les  pieces,  en  effet,  ou  etait  representee  la  vie  d'un 
saint  se  pretaient  particulierement  au  jeu  de  cette  machi- 
nerie  primitive  qui  enchantait  le  peuple."  The  same  writer 
quotes  Cristobal  Suarez  de  Figueroa  {El  Passagero,  Alivio 
iii) ,  who  says :  "En  las  comedias  de  cuerpo  (pieces  a  grand 
effet  par  opposition  a  celles  dites  de  ingenio  ou  de  capa  y 
espada)  que,  sin  las  de  reyes  de  Hungria  o  principes  de 
Transilvania,  suelen  ser  de  vidas  de  santos,  intervienen 
varias  tramoyas  o  apariencias,  singular  afiagaza  para  que 
reincida  el  poblacho  tres  o  quatro  vezes  con  crecido  pro- 
vecho  del  autor."^  That  skilful  engineers  or  machinists 
were  employed  by  the  public  theaters  in  staging  such  plays 
at  the  time  alluded  to  by  Rojas,  is  not  at  all  probable. 

^Bulletin  Hispanique,  October-December,  1901,  p.  481.  See  also  Cle- 
mencin's  note  to  his  edition  of  Don  Quixote,  Madrid,  1833,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  407, 
and  Suarez  de  Figueroa,  Passagero,  ed.  1617,  ff.  104-106. 


HORSES  ON  THE  STAGE  8i 

Concerning  the  assertion  of  Rojas,  "Sacabanse  ya  caba- 
llos"  (liorses  were  now  brought  out  upon  the  stage) ,  there  is 
no  dramatist  prior  to  1602  to  whom  this  could  particularly 
refer,  so  far  as  I  know,  except  Lope  de  Vega.^  In  the 
latter's  La  Serrana  de  la  Vera,  El  Sol  par  ado,  and  La 
Varona  Castellana,  all  written  before  1603,  and  in  El 
primer  Faxardo,  perhaps  also  before  that  date,  a  horse 
appears  on  the  stage.  According  to  Luis  Fernandez 
Guerra,^  it  was  Andres  de  Claramonte  particularly  who 
was  fond  of  bringing  horses  upon  the  stage  in  his  plays. 
He  says:  "Gozabase  en  aderezar  muchas  de  sus  comedias 
con  desafios  a  caballo  y  en  pasear  sobre  hipogrifos  de 
carne  y  hueso  a  las  hermosuras  de  bastidores  por  en  medio 
de  lo  mas  turbulento  y  alegre  de  la  concurrencia.  .  .  . 
Esto  dio  lugar  a  que  Ana  Mufioz,  obligada  en  uno  de  sus 
dramas  a  salir  a  caballo  por  el  patio,  alborotado  el  corcei 
con  la  algaraza  de  los  mosqueteros,  malpario  un  varon.'* 
As  Claramonte  is  mentioned  by  Rojas'  among  those  actors 
who  had  (at  least  as  early  as  1602)  written  farsas,  has, 
bayles,  etc.,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  allusion  may  be  to 
him.  In  any  event,  it  carries  us  no  further  back  than  the 
time  of  Lope  de  Vega,  who  was  a  contemporary  of  Clara- 
monte's.  Moreover,  Miguel  Sanchez,  el  Divino,  who  is 
mentioned  after  Lope  de  Vega,  was  undoubtedly  one  of 
Lope's  predecessors.  Hence  the  period  to  which  Rojas 
refers  cannot  be  "about  1580,"  as  Schack  had  supposed, 
but  was,  in  all  probability,  more  than  a  decade  later.* 

*  In  El  gallardo  Espanol  by  Cervantes,  Act  I,  is  the  stage  direction: 
Entra  Alimuzel  a  cauallo,  con  lanza  y  adarga.  And  in  La  Casa  de  los 
Zelos,  Act  I:  ha  de  entrar  por  el  patio  Angelica  la  bella  sobre  un  pala- 
fren.  These  plays  may  date  before  1^592.  Tirso  de  Molina  also  not  infre- 
quently introduced  horses  upon  the  stage^lliough  at  a  much  later  date. 

*  Don  Juan  Ruiz  de  Alarcon,  p.  186. 
'  Fiage  entretenido,  p.  131. 

*  It  is  interesting  here  to  note  the  observations  of  a  very  acute  and  learned 
writer,  Alonso  Lopez  Pinciano,  concerning  the  decorations  of  the  stage,  the 
costumes,  etc.,  written  about  1595  or  perhaps  a  little  before.  From  a  refer- 
ence to  two  of  the  older  Spanish  autores  de  comedias,  it  has  been  considered 
that,  though  published  in  1596,  the  work  alluded  to  was  written  at  least 


82)  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

We  may  readily  believe  that  with  the  appearance  of  a 
genius  like  Lope  (who  wrote  plays  at  twelve,  but  perhaps 
did  not  begin  to  write  for  the  public  stage  until  about 
1585)  the  progress  in  the  comedia  was  accompanied  by  a 
corresponding  advance  in  staging.  Yet  it  seems  reason- 
ably safe  to  say  that,  even  for  some  years  after  Lope  be- 
gan his  career  as  a  playwright,  the  decorations  and  scenic 
effects  in  the  public  theaters  of  Spain  were  very  primi- 
tive. As  Schack  observes,  any  attempt  at  optical  illusion 
was  wholly  out  of  the  question.  "Nor  was  there  a  curtain 
in  front  of  the  stage,  from  which  it  follows  that,  at  the 
beginning  of  a  piece,  the  stage  could  not  be  occupied  by 
groups  [of  players],  but  the  actors  had  to  enter  before  the 
eyes  of  the  spectators."    An  examination  of  the  comedias 

ten  years  earlier.  (Schack,  Vol.  I,  p.  299,  says  that  it  was  written  shortly 
after  1580.)  The  passage  is:  "When  I  see  the  placards  of  Cisneros  or 
Galvez,  I  cannot  help  going  to  see  them,  and  while  I  am  in  the  theater  I 
neither  feel  the  cold  in  winter  nor  the  heat  in  summer."  But  we  know  now 
that  Jeronimo  Galvez  was  acting  at  least  as  late  as  1590  and  probably  later, 
while  Alonso  de  Cisneros  did  not  die  till  September  10,  1597.  It  is  probable, 
therefore,  that  our  author's  remarks  refer  to  about  the  time  that  his  work 
was  published.  This  work  is  in  the  form  of  a  conversation  between  the 
author  and  his  friends  Ugo  and  Fadrique,  and  consists  of  a  number  of  let- 
ters written  by  the  author  to  one  Don  Gabriel  and  the  replies  of  the  latter 
thereta  In  the  thirteenth  and  last  letter  "de  los  adores  y  representantes," 
Don  Ugo  remarks:  "So  far  as  the  action  is  concerned,  the  person,  the  time, 
and  the  place  ought  to  be  considered,  for  it  is  clear  that  a  different  decora- 
tion and  dress  or  costume  is  required  for  a  prince  than  for  a  servant,  and 
different  ones  for  youths  and  old  men.  Wherefore  the  second  consideration, 
that  of  time,  is  very  important,  for  the  Spain  of  to-day  demands  a  different 
decoration  and  dress  from  the  Spain  of  a  thousand  years  ago,  and  hence  it 
behooves  to  examine  carefully  histories  which  throw  light  upon  the  costumes 
of  the  times,  and  we  should  likewise  take  note  of  the  various  countries, 
for  in  each  they  have  different  kinds  of  dress.  The  actor  should  observe 
these  matters  carefully,  for  the  poet  rarely  pays  any  attention  to  them, 
generally  writing  the  poem  to  be  read  rather  than  to  be  represented,  leav- 
ing those  matters  that  refer  to  the  action  to  the  actor,  whose  business  it 
is  to  represent.  Whence  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  the  good  actor  (especially 
the  chief  of  a  company)  ought  to  know  much  of  fiction  (fabula)  and  of 
history,  so  that,  in  accordance  with  the  difference  in  time,  besides  the  cos- 
tumes of  the  persons  in  the  action,  there  is  required  a  corresponding  decora- 
tion for  the  theater  itself,  besides  the  necessary  machinery,  which  ought 
to  be  in  conformity  with  the  poem:  if  it  be  pastoral,  there  should  be  woods; 
if  the  action  take  place  in  a  city,  there  should  be  houses ;  and  so  in  accord- 
ance with  the  other  differences,  the  theater  should  have  its  various  decora- 


THE  CURTAIN  83 

of  Lope  de  Vega  proves  the  truth  of  this  assertion,  as  re- 
gards the  theaters  of  Madrid,  and  that  there  was  no 
outer  curtain  in  the  theater  at  Valencia  is  shown  by  a 
number  of  plays  by  Valencian  dramatists  which  appeared 
in  a  volume  entitled  Norte  de  la  Poesia  espahola,  Valen- 
cia, i6i6.^  This  statement  seems  to  be  contradicted  by  a 
passage  at  the  close  of  Lope  de  \ tg^C s  La  inocente  Sangre , 
published  in  Part  XIX  of  his  Comedias,  the  Aprovacion 
of  which  is  dated  1622.  Here  one  of  the  characters, 
Mendo,  says: 

/  "Corre  essa  cortina,  y  desse 

/     fin  a  los  Carauajales,"  etc. 

Five  players  are  on  the  stage,  and  the  curtain  is  drawn  to 
conceal  them  from  the  audience.  It  is  possible,  how- 
ever, that  this,  too,  was  a  curtain  farther  back  on  the 
stage.     Unfortunately,  we  do  not  know  the  date  of  this 

tions  {ornato).  And  in  the  machinery  there  should  be  much  excellence 
(primor),  for  there  are  some  machines  which  are  fitting  for  a  miracle  and 
others  for  different  purposes,  and  they  have  their  differences  according  to 
the  persons,  for  an  angel  must  appear  to  be  flying  and  a  saint  going 
jthrough  the  air  with  joined  feet,  and  both  must  descend  from  on  high,  while 
the  demon  ascends  from  below.  ...  In  a  word,  the  actor  should  observe 
and  study  the  various  machinery  and  artifices,  so  that  suddenly,  as  if  by 
a  miracle,  a  person  be  made  to  appear :  by  magic  art,  if  terrestrial ;  without 
it,  if  the  person  be  divine."  {Philosophia  Antigua,  ed.  1596,  pp.  522,  523.) 
*  Lope's  El  Rey  Bamba  (written  before  1603)  shows  clearly  that  there 
was  no  outer  curtain.  At  the  close  of  the  play  the  King  is  lying  dead 
upon  the  stage,  when  Atanarico  says: 

"Cojamos  el  cuerpo  en  ombros 

y  luego  el  entierro  se  haga, 

dando  fin  a  la  comedia 

y  vida  y  muerte  de  Bamba." 

{Comedias,  Part  I,  Valladolid,  1604,  fol.  116,  v.) 
And  in  his  La  Quinta  de  Florencia,  Part  II,  1609,  we  read  at  the  end: 
"Vanse  todos  por  su  orden,  con  que  se  da  fin  a  la  Comedia."  At  the  close  of 
Aguilar's  play,  published  in  the  Norte  de  la  Poesia  espanola,  entitled  El 
Mercader  Amante,  is  the  stage  direction:  Entranse  todos,  y  se  da  fin  a  la 
Comedia  del  Mercader  Amante.  Ricardo  de  Turia's  Burladora  burlada 
concludes  with  the  stage  direction:  Entranse  todos  cada  uno  por  su  puerta, 
dandose  con  esto  fin  a  la  famosa  Comedia,  etc.  The  same  author's  La 
belligera  Espanola  and  Aguilar's  La  Fuerqa  del  Interes  close  with  similar 
stage  directions.  These  would,  of  course,  have  been  unnecessary  had  there 
been  an  outer  curtain.  -    


84  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

play.  Though  not  printed  tilL  i6a2^  Xope  says  in  his 
dedication  that  he  had  written  it  years  ago:  "Anos  ha  que 
escriui  este  suceso." 

There  was  a  curtain  at  the  back  of  the  stage,  like  the 
traverses  of  the  Elizabethan  theater,  which  could  be  drawn 
aside  to  represent  a  tent,  bedchamber,  chapel,  etc.^  The 
sides  of  the  stage  were  also  hung  with  curtains,  as  the 
stage  directions  abundantly  show.^ 

Cervantes  even  tells  us  that  the  curtains  were  of  green 
baize,  and  they  must  have  been  arranged,  upon  occasions, 
in  such  a  manner  that  the  spectator  could  see  behind 
them.^ 

In  the  background,  raised  some  distance  from  the 
stage,  was  a  gallery  {loalto  del  teatro),  which  served  for 

*  In  the  first  act  of  Lope  de  Vega's  El  Asalto  de  Mastrique  {Comedias, 
Part  IV,  1614),  we  read  the  stage  direction:  Corrase  una  tienda,  0  cortina, 
y  veanse  sentados  el  Duque  de  Parma,  etc.  .  .  .  los  soldados  se  arrimen  al 
Teatro.    Afterward:  Cierrese  la  tienda,  y  los  soldados  digan: 

"Soldado:  Parece  que  ya  se  van 
de  la  tienda." 

In  El  Marmol  de  Felisardo,  Act  III  (written  before  i6a4)>  occurs  the  stage 
direction:  Carre  Tristan  la  cortina,  detras  de  la  qual  estd  Elisa,  etc.,  and  in 
Las  Pobrezas  de  Reynaldos  (also  before  1604),  Act  II:  Corren  una  cortina, 
y  descubrese  una  Capilla  con  un  altar,  etc.  So  near  the  close  of  Act  III  of 
Guillen  de  Castro's  La  Tragedia  por  los  Celos  (1622)  the  curtain  that  was 
drawn  to  show  the  dead  body  of  Margarita  de  Hi  jar  was  doubtless  at  the 
rear  of  the  stage.  And  in  Ricardo  de  Turia's  La  Burladora  burlada 
(printed  in  i6i6),  Act  III,  Laura  says: 

"Detras  deste  tapiz  rico 
pienso  escuchallas." 

This  is  followed  by  the  stage  direction:  quedase  detras  de  la  cortina. 

'  See  La  Burladora  burlada,  cited  in  the  previous  note.  Also  in  Alarcon's 
El  Desdichado  en  fingir  (one  of  his  earliest  plays,  written  probably  before 
1600),  at  the  close  of  a  scene  in  Act  II,  is  the  direction:  Vanse,  y  es condense 
detras  de  una  cortina.  In  Act  III  of  Tirso  de  Molina's  La  fingida  Arcadia, 
a  stage  direction  seems  to  show  that  a  curtain  sometimes  covered  the  whole 
rear  of  the  stage.  The  direction  is:  Tocan  tromfetas,  etc.  Cdese  abajo  todo 
el  lienzo  del  teatro  y  quede  un  jardin  lleno  de  flores  y  yedra.  This  is  a  late 
play,  however,  certainly  after  1621,  for  in  it  Tirso  mentions  Lope  de  Vega's 
La  Filomena,  which  appeared  in  that  year.  For  further  examples  see  my 
article  "The  Staging  of  Lope  de  Vega's  Comedias,"  in  the  Revue  His- 
panique,  Vol.  XV,  1907. 

'  In  La  Gran  Sultana  we  find  the  stage  direction:  Parece  el  Gran  Turco 


WINDOWS  AND  BALCONIES  85 

various  purposes ;  for  example,  to  represent  the  walls  of  a 
city,  the  balcony  of  a  house,  a  tower,  a  mountain,  etc. 
In  the  above  article  I  have  collected  many  examples  under 
the  various  headings:  "A  wall  or  tower  at  the  back  of  the 
stage,"  "A  window,"  "A  balcony,"  etc.,  which  show  that 
the  "balcony"  was  merely  a  gallery  at  the  upper  part  of 
the  back  of  the  stage,  which  was  covered  by  a  hanging 
curtain,  so  that  there  was  no  essential  difference  in  the 
representation  of  a  wall,  a  tower,  a  window,  or  a  balcony. 
That  a  gallery  ran  along  the  back  of  the  stage,  perhaps  a 
continuation  of  the  gallery  occupied  by  the  spectators,  ap- 
pears from  stage  directions  in  a  number  of  plays.* 

The  stage,  Schack  observes,  was  not  nearly  so  deep  as 
that  of  the  modern  theater,  but  was  rather  wide.  "Its 
decorations  consisted  of  curtains  of  a  single  color,  hung 
at  the  sides  and  in  the  background,  leaving  the  various 
entrances  free.  These  represented  now  aToom,  now  a  hall 
or  a  street,  now  a  garden  or  a  forest,  without  any  visible 
change."^  Continuing,  the  same  writer  observes:  "With 
this  simple  arrangement  those  pieces  were  played  the 
action  of  which  was  supposed  to  take  place  in  ordinary 
domestic  and  civil  life,  chiefly  therefore  the  comedias 
de  capa  y  espada,  but  especially  those  in  which  the  stage 
did  not  essentially  enter  into  the  action  of  the  play  and 
where  the  imagination  of  the  spectator  could  be  relied 
upon.     Whether  more  machinery  was  to  be  used  or  not 

detras  de  unas  cortinas  de  tafetan  verde  .  .  ,  descubrese  la  cortina:  parece 
el  Gran  Turco.     {Comedias,  etc.,  Madrid,  1615,  fol.  121.) 

*  In  Tirso  de  Molina's  Dona  Beatrix  de  Silva,  Act  I:  Tiros  de  Artilleria; 
musica  de  todo  genero;  fiestas  de  dentro,  y  saca  Silveria  sobre  los  corredores 
de  arriba,  a  un  lado  una  bandera  con  las  armas  de  Portugal  y  Castilla. 
Afterward  we  read:  Al  otro  lado  saca  arriba  Olivenza  otra  bandera,  etc. 
Finally:  Entranse  los  de  arriba.  This  comedia  was  written  about  1618, 
according  to  Cotarelo.    See  additional  cases  cited  below,  p.  94,  note  1. 

*  These  statements  require  some  modification.  That  there  were  at  least 
two  doors  at  the  back  of  the  stage,  always  called  puertas,  is  shown  by  every 
comedia.  In  the  above  article  on  the  staging  of  Lope's  plays,  numerous 
instances  are  given  to  show  that  trees  were  represented  on  the  stage  either 
painted  on  canvas  hanging  at  the  sides,  or  single  trees  or  groups  of  trees 
on  frames  standing  on  the  stage.    Some  examples  are  cited  below. 


86  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

was  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  theatrical  manager.  This 
depended  especially  upon  whether  the  play  in  question, 
from  its  subject-matter,  necessitated  scenery  and  was  such 
that  all  could  not  be  left  to  the  imagination.  In  such  cases 
the  objects  which  would  otherwise  have  to  be  imagined 
were  actually  brought  before  the  eye,  and  the  plays  in 
which  such  apparatus  had  to  be  employed,  beyond  the 
simple  curtains,  and  in  which  the  costumes  were  richer  and 
costlier,  were  called  comedias  de  teatro.  Decorations, 
however,  in  the  modern  sense-  of  the  word,  or  a  regular 
change  of  scene,  were  wholly  unknown."^ 

For  most  scenes,  as  just  remarked,  a  simple  curtain 
sufficed,  and  this  was  used  to  represent  the  most  diverse 
localities.  "If  the  stage  was  unoccupied  for  a  moment  and 
persons  came  upon  it  through  another  entrance,  a  change 
of  scene  had  to  be  imagined  by  the  spectator,  though  none 
was  visible  on  the  stage,  and  this  was  irrespective  of  the 
entrances  or  exits  of  the  characters."  Schack  cites  several 
instances  of  this:  Act  II  of  Calderon's  El  Alcayde  de  si 

*  Schack,  Geschichte  der  dram.  Lit.  u.  Kunst  in  Spanien,  Vol.  II,  p.  lao. 
Spaniards,  according  to  Caramuel,  considered  changes  of  scene  super- 
fluous, as  neither  the  exactness  of  the  thought,  nor  the  elegance  of  the  dic- 
tion, nor  the  splendor  of  the  production,  depended  upon  them.  He  says: 
"Scenarum  mutationes  Hispani  superfluas  judicant:  quas  tamen  Itali  esse 
necessarias  supponentes  in  theatri  fabric!  pro  unica  interdum  Comoedia 
magnam  sumnaam  ducatorum  impendunt.  Et  hie,  si  loquamur  sincere,  incon- 
sequenter  Hispani  laborare  videmur:  quoniam  hinc  leges  scribendi  Comoe- 
dias  ab  Antiquis  latas  fastidimus,  inde  scenarum  mutationes  quasi  super- 
fluas judicamus,  cum  tamen  haec  duo  non  subsistant.  Cur  non  volumus  ut 
nostrae  Comoediae  subsint  Veterum  legibus?  Quia  falsae  hypothesi  leges  a 
Veteribus  prolatae  insistunt.  Putabant  ipsi  Comoedias  Viris  tantum  doctis 
scribi,  et  coram  doctis  tantum  agi,  cum  tamen  certum  sit  et  nos  supponimus, 
illas  scribi  vulgo  et  coram  numeroso  vulgo  representari.  Et  cur  non  vo- 
lumus mutare  Scaenas?  Quia  ab  earum  mutatione  conceptuum.  subrilitas, 
verborum  elegantia  et  nitor  prolationis  non  dependent.  Ecce  severas 
scribendi  Comoedias  leges  negligiraus,  nam  illae  representantur  propter 
vulgus,  qui  illas  leges  non  capit:  et  ecce  Scenarum  mutationes  negligimus, 
nam  docti,  quorum  est,  de  conceptuum  et  versuum  nitore  judicare,  ut  bona 
laudent  carmina,  hoc  impendio  non  indigent.  Ego  hoc  auderem  discurrere. 
Seu  doctis  seu  indoctis  scribantur  Comoediae,  debent  Scenae  mutari  et  ap- 
parentiae  quas  vocant  admitti :  illarum  enim  varietate  doctorum  et  indoc- 
tonim  oculi  dilectantur."  (J.  Caramuelis,  Primus  Calamus,  Tom.  II,  quoted 
by  Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  28.) 


LOS  EMBUSTES  DE  FABIA  87 

mismo  opens  in  a  park;  the  second  scene  is  a  forest;  enter 
three  peasants  and  Antona,  who  says  that  Benito  has  as- 
sured her  that  on  her  return  to  the  forest  she  will  find  his 
love  "more  firm  than  this  oak."  Nothing  has  been  said  to 
intimate  a  change  of  scene  when  Federico  enters,  and  in  a 
dialogue  with  Roberto  says:  "Is  not  some  one  knocking? 
Roberto:  Yes.  Federico:  Then  go  and  open  the  door," 
and  the  stage  direction  follows:  "Federico  sits  down  in  a 
chair;  enter  Marguerite,"  whereby  a  change  to  the  interior 
of  the  castle  is  to  be  supposed  by  the  spectator.* 

In  Lope  de  Vega's  Los  Embustes  de  Fabia,  Aurelio  has 
been  in  the^  chamber  of  his  mistress  and  has  not  left  the 
stage,  when  he  says:  "Here  is  the  palace  and  there  Nero, 
our  Emperor,  appears,  for  the  poet  has  permitted  this  ex- 
pedient to  be  employed,  since,  if  the  Emperor  should  not 
enter  now,  the  narrative  would  be  so  vague  that  nobody 
would  understand  it."^  A  better  example  to  illustrate  the 
point  under  discussion  could  hardly  be  found.  We  do  not 
know  when  Los  Embustes  de  Fabia  was  written,  but  it  was 
one  of  Lope's  early  plays,  for  it  is  mentioned  in  the  list 
in  the  first  edition  of  his  Peregrino  en  su  Patria,  and  hence 
must  be  earlier  than  1604.  A  notable  instance  of  where 
a  change  of  scene  is  indicated  merely  by  the  actor's  going 

*Schack,  Geschichte,  etc.,  Vol.  II,  p.  121.  It  should  be  noted  that  this 
incident  was  first  referred  to  by  Damas  Hinard,  that  excellent  scholar  to 
whom  Spanish  literature  owes^so  much.  In  his  Chefs-d'oeuvre  du  Thiatre 
Espagnol,  Calderon,  2«  Serie,  Paris,  1841,  note  to  p.  316,  he,  says:  "Nous 
etions  tout-a-1'heure  dans  le  pare,  et  tout-a-coup  nous  voila  transportes  dans 
I'interieur  du  chateau.  Comme  Frederic  et  Roberto  n'ont  pas  quitte  le 
theatre,  il  nous  est  impossible  d'indlquer  un  changement  de  seine.  Mais 
enfin  le  lecteur  est  averti,  nous  sommes  maintenant  dans  le  chateau  de  Bel- 
flor,  ou  de  Miraflor." 

*  "Este  es  el  palacio,  aci  sale 

Neron,  nuestro  Emperador, 

Que  lo  permite  el  Autor 

Que  desta  industria  se  vale; 

Porque  si  aca  no  saliera 

Fuera  aqui  la  relacion 

Tan  mala  y  tan  sin  razon 

Que  ninguno  lo  entendiera." 

(Comedias,  Part  XXV,  Zaragoza,  1647,  fol.  537.) 


88  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

in  one  door  and  coming  out  of  another  is  furnished  by  La 
Espahola  de  Florencia,  z  comedia  wrongly  ascribed  to  Cal- 
deron.  The  example  is  of  especial  interest  because  of  the 
comparatively  late  date  of  the  play,  which  was  probably 
written  between  1630  and  1635.^  Schack  further  remarks : 
"That  the  stage  did  not  always  realize  what  one  should  sup- 
pose, even  in  the  so-called  comedias  de  teatro,  results  from 
the  speeches  of  the  characters,  who  frequently  indicate  the 
locality,  which  would  have  been  unnecessary  if  it  had  been 
actually  brought  before  the  eyes  of  the  spectator.  Only 
when  the  progress  of  the  action  could  not  well  be  otherwise 
indicated  was  recourse  had  to  such  expedients  of  the  scenic 
art  as  were  available.  Such  cases  were  mostly  left  to  the 
judgment  of  the  theatrical  manager,  inasmuch  as  the  poets 
only  gave  directions  in  the  most  necessary  cases.     The 

*  "Salen  Carlos  y  Gerardo. 
Gerardo:  Ya  hemos  Ilegado  a  casa. 
Carlos:      \  Ay,  Gerardo,  que  el  pecho  se  me  abrasai 
Lucrecia:  Cavalleros.  si  el  cielo 

a  pledad  os  inclina,  tened  duelo 

de  una  muger,  si  noble,  desdichada, 

que  llega  de  su  suerte  atropellada 

a  pedir  vuestro  amparo. 

Valgame  vuestra  casa  de  reparo, 

que  en  tanta  desventura 

mi  honor  vuestra  nobleza  me  assegura. 

Entranse  Carlos  y  Lucrecia. 
Carlos:      Entrad,  Senora  en  ella. 
Gerardo:  \  Por  Dios,  que  la  muger  parece  bella! 

No  seria  en  mi  amo  dicha  poca, 

si  por  esta  oluidasse  [a]  la  otra  loca. 

Entranse,  y  salen  por  la  otra  puerta  todos  tret. 
Carlos:      Ya  estamos  en  la  posada." 
(Comedias  Escogidas,  Vol.  XII,  Madrid,  1658,  Jornada  II,  fol.  105.) 

Jornada  III  furnishes  a  similar  instance: 

"Salen  Cesar  y  Valerio. 
Cesar:        Ya  a  casa  a  buscaros  me  boluia, 

Carlos;  yo  os  hallo,  j  que  gran  dicha  es  mia! 

Lleguemos  d  la  entrada. 
Lucrecia:  Lida,  aquesta  ocasion  es  apretada. 
Carlos:      Ya  en  vuestra  casa  estamos." 

I  quote  these  passages  at  length  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  this  comedia. 
Dr.  M.  Rosenberg  purposes  publishing  a  critical  edition  of  it  shortly. 


SIMULTANEOUS  SCENERY  89 

staging  of  plays  was  therefore  very  arbitrary."  ^  A  deco- 
ration which  happened  to  be  at  hand  was  sometimes  used 
in  cases  where  it  was  not  necessary,  while  in  other  in- 
stances, where  the  required  apparatus  was  lacking,  an 
appeal  was  unreasonably  made  to  the  imagination  of  the 
spectator. 

Moreover,  the  freedom  exercised  in  the  matter  of 
scenery  can  hardly  be  exaggerated.  "There  was  no  thought 
of  any  actual  illusion — of  any  deception  of  the  senses. 
The  painting  of  scenery  according  to  the  rules  of  perspec- 
tive, so  that  the  stage  should  have  some  appearance  of 
reality,  was  wholly  unknown.  A  few  houses  or  trees 
painted  on  pasteboard  or  linen  did  duty  for  a  street  or  a 
forest,  while  the  simple  curtain  in  the  background  or  the 
sides  remained  unchanged.  After  such  a  decoration  had 
been  set  upon  the  stage,  no  particular  care  was  taken  to 
remove  it  at  the  end  of  the  scene,  and  frequently  it  had  to 
suffice  to  indicate  another  similar  place." 

There  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  simultaneous  scenery 
was  used  upon  the  Spanish  stage,  as  it  was  used  at  the  same 
period  in  the  Elizabethan  theater.  In  the  representation  of 
Calderon's  El  Alcayde  de  si  mismo  it  is  very  probable  that 
a  tree  was  represented  upon  the  stage  at  the  opening  of 
the  second  act  and  was  not  removed  until  its  close. 

In  Alarcon's  El  Dueno  de  las  Estrellas  (1618?),  toward  the  close  of 
Act  III,  the  scene  is  supposed  to  represent  a  street  at  night.  The  King  and 
Palante  appear  before  the  house  of  Marcela.  Palante  gives  a  sign,  and 
•we  have  the  stage  direction:  Asomase  Marcela  a  una  ventana. 

"Marcela:  lEa  Palante?    Palante:  Si.    Marcela:  Ya  voy. 

{Vase  a  abrir  la  puerta.)" 
Presently  Palante  says:  "Ya  estd  &  la  puerta  Marcela. 

{Aparece  Marcela  en  la  calle.) 
Marcela:  Entrad.    Rey:  Marcela  querida,  etc. 
Marcela:  Seguidme.     {Vanse  de  la  calle,  y  dando  la  <vuelta  par 
detras  del  teatro,  entranse  de  spues  en  la  sala  \_de  Marcela"].)" 
That  is,  the  actors  merely  pass  out  on  one  side  of  the  stage  and  enter  on 
the  other,  and  the  scene  is  supposed  to  change  from  a  street  to  a  room  in 
Marcela's  house. 

^  For  a  detailed  account  see  my  article  already  referred  to,  in  the  Revue 
Hispanique  for  1907. 


90  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

"Sometimes  a  change  of  scene  was  indicated  by  simply 
drawing  a  curtain  aside,  whereby  the  essential  object  be- 
came visible,  the  rest  of  the  stage  remaining  unchanged, 
only  a  small  scene,  as  it  were,  stepping  out  of  the  larger 
one.  In  this  way  it  is  frequently  supposed  that  from  the 
foreground,  which  represents  a  street  or  a  room,  one  can 
look  into  the  interior  of  a  house  or  into  another  apartment. 
How  little  attention  was  given  to  the  probability  of  a  scene 
may  be  observed  from  the  fact  that  not  seldom  the  stage 
represented  a  field  of  great  dimensions,  in  which  the 
personages  traverse  long  distances,  so  that  the  scene  was 
actually  to  be  considered  movable.  Thus,  in  the  first  act 
of  Calderon's  Dos  Amantes  del  Cielo,^  one  of  the  charac- 
ters, Chrysanthus,  is  represented  as  being  in  the  grove  of 
Diana ;  then  it  is  supposed  that  he  goes  thence  deeper  into 
the  mountains ;  he  describes  the  wild,  mountainous  country 
which  he  is  now  approaching,  without  leaving  the  stage 
for  a  moment.  A  change  of  scene  could  not  have  taken 
place  here;  the  same  trees  and  perhaps  hills  which  had  at 
first  served  for  a  grove  were  afterward  taken  to  represent 
the  wilder  mountain  region." 

Another  and  similar  case  is  the  following :  "when  the  per- 
sonages upon  the  stage  are  supposed  to  be  moving  forward 
and  have  reached  an  object  which  attracts  their  attention 
and  which  enters  into  the  action  of  the  play,  a  back  or  side 
curtain  is  drawn  in  order  to  permit  this  to  appear.  Exam- 
ples are  frequent.  At  the  beginning  of  Lope's  Arauco 
domado  a  number  of  soldiers  are  wandering  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  a  South  American  seaport.  They  are  on  their 
way  to  the  public  square,  where  a  Corpus  Christi  proces- 
sion is  to  pass  under  a  triumphal  arch ;  when  they  arrive  at 
the  spot,  the  scene  is  opened  by  withdrawing  a  curtain, 
and  a  glimpse  is  afforded  of  the  arch  and  the  holiday 
crowd."  ^  So  in  Tirso  de  Molina's  El  Burlador  de  Sevilla 

^The  date  of  this  play  is  unknown:  it  was  written  before  1651. 

'  Schack,  ibid.,  p.  123.     For  a  similar  scene,  see  Lope's  La  Prueba  de  los 


THE  PLACE  OF  ACTION  91 

(written  before  1630),  Don  Juan  and  his  servant  are 
roaming  the  streets  of  Seville,  and  after  they  have  been 
upon  the  stage  a  considerable  time,  the  statue  of  the 
Comendador,  Don  Gonzalo  de  UUoa,  is  suddenly  dis- 
closed. 

Sometimes  the  place  of  action  is  mentioned  in  the  dia- 
logue at  the  beginning  of  a  scene;  more  rarely  by  a  stage 
direction.*  But  the  stage  remained  the  same,  there  was 
no  visible  change,  whether  the  action  was  transported  to 
Florence,  Rome,  or  Hungary.  Indeed,  there  is  often  great 
difficulty  in  distinguishing  interior  from  exterior  scenes. 
Many  scenes,  in  fact,  are  entirely  unlocalized,  and  here,  as 
in  the  Elizabethan  drama,  "vagueness  of  localization"  is 
a  fundamental  fact.^ 

Besides,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  costume  was  a 

Amigos  (1604),  Act  III,  in  the  article  above  mentioned  on  The  Staging  of 
Lope  de  Vega's  Comedias,  p.  7,  and  La  Fi  romptda  (before  1604),  Act  I, 
ibid.,  p.  9. 

*  In  Lope  de  Vega's  Rey  Bamba  (Part  I,  1604),  Act  II: 

"Rodrigo:  Esta  es  la  Vega  famosa, 
del  Tajo  la  plaga  liana 
y  aquesta  de  Galiana 
la  morada  deleytosa." 

In  Lope's  Comedia  del  Molino  (Part  I,  1604),  Act  III: 

"Rey:  Que  gente  es  esta  que  camina  al  bosque," 

showing  that  a  grove  is  intended. 

Lope's  La  Quinta  de  Florencia  (Part  II,  1609),  Act  I: 

"Alexandra:  Hermosa  ciudad  Florencia." 

Coello's  El  Conde  de  Sex  (a  late  play,  probably  about  1635),  Act  II,  at 
the  beginning: 

"Cosme:  Aora,  a  Londres  llegamos, 
y  ya  a  palacio  venimos?" 

Place  indicated  in  stage  direction:  Lope  de  Vega,  La  Escolastica  zelosa 
(Part  I,  1604),  Act  III:  "Sale  Marico  solo  de  caraino  en  Alcala."  Lope, 
La  Burgalesa  de  Lerma  (1613),  Act  I:  "Salgan  en  Madrid  Clauela  y  Lu- 
cia." Lope,  De  Cosario  a  Cosario  (Part  XIX,  1623),  Act  I:  "Salen  en  la 
calle  Mayor  Celia,  dama,"  etc.  Lope,  Peribanez  y  el  Comendador  de  Ocaha 
(Part  IV),  Act  I:  "El  Comendador  en  casa  con  ropa,  y  Luxan  lacayo." 
Numerous  cases  could  be  cited;  see  the  above-mentioned  article  in  the 
Revue  Hispanique  for  1907. 

*  See  an  excellent  article  by  William  Archer  in  the  Quarterly  Revieiv 


92  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

very  important  means,  and  frequently  the  only  one,  of 
indicating  a  change  of  scene.  Many  examples  could  be 
quoted.  In  Lope  de  Vega's  La  Fe  rompida,^  at  the  open- 
ing of  Act  I  we  find  the  stage  direction : "  [Enter]  Luzinda 
as  a  huntress  with  a  javelin  and  Alberto,  peasant,"  show- 
ing that  a  wood  is  to  be  imagined  by  the  spectator.  In 
Los  Comendadores  de  Cordoba,^  Act  I,  near  end:  "Enter 
D.  Fernando  with  cloak  and  buckler,  as  if  at  night." 

In  the  rear  of  the  stage  were  two  doors.  It  is  quite 
probable,  indeed,  that  there  were  three,  the  middle 
door  being  in  a  recess  {nicho)  in  front  of  which  a  curtain 
could  be  drawn.  This  was  certainly  the  case  later,  as 
Calderon's  El  Encanto  sin  Encanto^  shows.  While  the 
exact  date  of  this  play  is  unknown,  it  was  performed, 
in  all  probability,  before  1635. 

The  dressing  room,  or  vestuario,  occupied  the  two  sides 
and  the  back  of  the  stage.  It  is  evident  from  a  number 
of  stage  directions  that  an  actor  could  enter  upon  the 
stage  directly  from  the  vestuario.  In  fact,  when  a  man 
was  killed  upon  the  stage  he  generally  managed  to  fall 
into  the  dressing-room.  In  Cervantes's  El  gallardo  Es- 
pahol,  Act  III,  we  read  the  stage  direction,  "They  fall 

for  April,  1908,  p.  447,  who  very  pertinently  says:  "The  category  of  place 
imposed  itself  but  faintly  and  intermittently  on  the  mind  of  the  Elizabethan 
play-goer:  a  fact  which  the  believers  in  the  habitual  indication  of  scenes 
by  placards,  and  even  by  painted  cloths,  would  do  well  to  note.  .  .  .  W^e 
believe  that  vagueness  of  localization  of  the  Elizabethan  drama  to  be  a 
fundamental  fact  which  cannot  be  fully  realized  until  the  student  has  dis- 
missed modern  editions  from  his  mind,  and  gone  back  to  the  original  texts." 

'  Comedias,  Part  IV,  Madrid,  1614. 

*  Comedias,  Part  II,  Madrid,  1609. 

'Jornada  I,  stage  direction:  Escondense  los  dos  en  la  Puerto  de  en 
medio,  y  sale  el  Gobernador,  etc.  Jornada  II,  Los  dos  se  pasen,  y  sale  al 
paho  Serafina,  Libia,  etc.  Jornada  III,  Arrimanse  al  nicho,  suena  ruido 
en  la  otra  puerta,  etc.  That  painted  canvas  was  then  used,  is  evinced 
by  the  following  direction:  Jornada  II:  Vanse  las  dos,  y  abriendose  una 
puerta,  que  estard  pintada  de  muralla,  y  que  convenga  con  lo  demas.  The 
term  bastidores  also  occurs  in  this  piece.  While  I  have  seen  no  edition 
of  this  play  earlier  than  1760,  the  stage  directions  are  probably  unchanged, 
as  this  edition  is  not  divided  into  scenes.  For  the  date  of  this  play,  see 
Schmidt,  Die  Schauspiele  Calderon's,  Eberfeld,  1857,  p.  59. 


THE  VESTUARIO  93 

within  the  dressing-room";*  in  Lope  de  Vega's  La  Oca- 
sion  perdida  (written  before  1604)  :  "Enter  Leoncio 
.  .  .  then  the  Princess  ...  all  come  close  to  the  can- 
vas (liengo)  oi  the  vestuario/'^ 

That  the  vestuario  was  separated  from  the  stage  by  a 
canvas  {liengo)  results  from  a  number  of  stage  directions, 
and  also  that  it  contained  doors,  for  it  is  very  probable 
that  the  doors  mentioned  in  these  stage  directions  some- 
times referred,  not  to  the  two  doors  at  the  back  of  the 
stage,  but  rather  to  doors  at  the  sides,  for  it  is  clear  that 
the  stage  could  be  entered  from  the  two  sides,  which  were 
provided  with  hangings  at  first  and  afterward  were  evi- 
dently of  canvas.* 

Many  of  Lope  de  Vega's  earliest  comedias,  being  come- 
dies of  intrigue,  required  no  theatrical  accessories  of  any 
kind  except  a  balcony  or  window.  These  balconies,  which 
served  also  for  windows  or  towers,  seem  to  have  been,  as 
already  stated,  a  continuation  of  the  gallery  or  corredor 
of  the  theater,  and  extended  behind  the  hangings  or  partl- 

^  Comedias,  Madrid,  1615,  fol.  26.  In  Lope's  El  Capellan  de  la  Virgen 
(printed  in  Part  XVIII,  1623),  Act  II,  is  the  stage  direction:  Vase  desati- 
nado  a  caer  en  el  vestuario. 

"  Enira  Leoncio,  Pinabelo,  .  .  .  y  la  Princessa  detras,  llega  Doriclea  a 
besarle  las  manos,  y  arrimanse  todos  al  lienqo  del  vestuario,  descubiertos. 
{Comedias,  Part  II,  Madrid,  1609,  fol.  37,  v.) 

*In  Lope  de  Vega's  La  Obediencia  laureada  (Part  VI,  1615),  Act  I,  stage 
direction :  Mira  hacia  el  vestuario. 

"Carlos:  A  cielos,  dos  bultos  veo, 
mas  parece,  yo  lo  creo, 
liengo  de  Ninfas  pintadas"  (fol.  11). 

Lope  de  Vega,  La  Imperial  de  Oton  (Part  VIII,  1617),  Act  III,  stage  direc- 
tion: Entrense,  y  con  musica  descubran  el  lienqo  del  vestuario  .  .  .  y  Mar- 
garita en  lo  alto.  Lope,  El  Amante  agradecido  (Part  X,  1618)  :  Veanse  dos 
medias  barcas  con  sus  ramos  a  la  puerta  del  vestuario,  etc.  La  bella  Aurora 
(printed  in  Part  XXI,  1635),  Act  II:  Las  dos  huyendo  se  pongan  en  dos 
tramoyas,  que  estaran  en  dos  partes  del  lienqo  del  vestuario,  etc.  In  Alar- 
con's  La  Cueva  de  Salamanca  (perJiaps  the  first  of  his  works,  and  written 
about  1599,  according  to  Hartzenbusch),  Act  I,  a  cord  is  stretched  across  the 
stage  to  trip  an  alguacil,  and  the  stage  direction  reads :  A  tan  el  cordel  atra- 
vesando  el  vestuario,  where  evidently  the  back  of  the  stage  only  is  meant. 
But  near  the  close  of  Act  II  is  the  stage  direction:  Sale  Lucia  y  un  Gana- 
pan,  con  un  cajon  de  la  estatura  de  un  hombrt;  ponelo  en  pie  a  raiz  del 


94  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

tion  which  separated  the  sides  of  the  stage  from  the 
auditorium.^ 

It  is,  perhaps,  needless  to  remark  that  Lope  de  Vega 
did  not  divide  his  comedias  into  scenes,  nor  did  any  of  the 
older  dramatists.  The  only  division  that  they  made  was 
into  three  acts.  These  scenes  are  the  work  of  later 
editors.  It  is  equally  superfluous  to  add  that,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  an  examination  like  this,  the  editions  of  these 
later  editors  are  absolutely  useless.  Recourse  should  be 
had  only  to  the  original  editions,  and  these  only  have  been 
consulted  in  the  present  examination.^ 

The  appeal  to  the  imagination  of  the  spectator  for  a 
change  of  scene  is  sometimes  made  in  words,  by  the  poet. 
Cervantes,  in  his  Rufian  dichoso,  Act  II,  says: 

To  the  auditor  it  matters 
Little  that  I  in  a  moment 

vestuario.  Afterward  we  read:  Abre  el  cajon,  y  sale  del  Don  Diego;  que 
el  cajon  ha  de  tener  la  espalda  tambien  hecha  puerta,  que  se  abre  hacia  el 
vestuario,  de  suerte  que  la  gente  no  lo  eche  de  <ver;  y  asi,  cuando  dona  Clara 
cierra  el  cajon,  abren  la  puerta  trasera,  y  quitan  la  estatua  y  entra  don 
Diego.  In  the  same  author's  La  Manganilla  de  Melilla  (written  in  1616- 
17),  Act  III,  is  the  stage  direction:  Coge  Acen  del  vestuario  un  hombre 
vestido  como  Pimienta  [one  of  the  characters  of  the  play],  y  echalo  por  un 
escotillon,  y  Pimienta  aparece  luego  en  lo  alto  del  vestuario.  These  stage 
directions,  it  should  be  added,  however,  are  taken  from  the  edition  of 
Hartzenbusch  in  the  Bibl.  de  Autores  Espanoles.  The  existence  of  a  side 
curtain  is  shown  very  clearly  in  Lope's  La  Reina  Dona  Juana  de  Napoles 
(Part  VI,  1615),  Act  I.  The  Queen,  Ludovico,  and  Tancredo  are  in  a 
garden;  as  Isabela  enters,  the  stage  direction  reads:  Escondese  la  Reyna 
detras  del  paho  y  sale  Isabela,  a  strange  confusion.  For  other  examples, 
see  above,  p.  84,  note,  Ricardo  de  Turia's  La  Burladora  burlada,  and  the 
article  mentioned  above. 

^  See  the  previous  note.  But  other  cases  may  be  cited :  In  Lope  de  Vega's 
Los  Torneos  de  Aragon  (Part  IV,  1614),  Act  III,  is  the  following  stage 
direction :  Chirimias  y  sientanse  en  un  corredor,  que  tome  todo  lo  alto  del 
Teatro,  el  Key  de  Aragon,  etc.  In  Alarcon's  El  Examen  de  Maridos,  writ- 
ten at  the  beginning  of  1625  or  earlier.  Act  III,  is  the  direction:  Sale 
Ochauo  en  el  corredor  mas  baxo,  y  salta  al  teatro.  So  it  reads  in  Lope's 
Comedias,  Part  XXIII,  ^arago<^a,  1633,  fol.  59.  In  the  Comedias  de  Alar- 
con,  ed.  Hartzenbusch,  we  find:  Desde  un  tejado  muy  bajo  salta  al  suelo  y 
caese.  See  also  Lope's  El  Amor  Vandolero,  Act  II,  and  El  Favor  agrade- 
cido,  Act  II. 

'  The  one  exception  is  especially  noted  above. 


EL  RUFIAN  DICHOSO  95 

I  Pass  from  Germany  to  Guinea, 
/  Though  from  off  this  stage  I  move  not. 
I    Human  thought,  indeed,  is  nimble; 
I   Well  may  they  accompany 
\  Me  with  it,  where'er  it  may  be, 
Without  losing  me  or  tiring.^ 

Yet  It  must  not  be  inferred  from  what  has  just  been  said 
that  no  attempt  at  verisimilitude  was  made — that  nothing 
was  done  to  aid  the  imagination  of  the  spectator.  There  Is 
abundant  and  Indisputable  evidence  to  the  contrary.  A 
garden  was  represented  on  the  stage;  of  this  there  are 
numerous  instances;^  or  a  fountain,^  or  rocks  and  moun- 
tains.* Trees  were  represented  on  the  stage,  either  painted 
on  canvas  or  by  set  pieces.    Many  examples  might  be  cited.' 

*  "Muy  poco  importa  al  oyente 
Que  yo  en  un  punto  me  passe 
Desde  Alemania  a  Guinea 
Sin  del  teatro  raudarme. 
£1  pensamiento  es  ligero; 
Bien  pueden  acompanarme 
Con  el,  do  quiera  que  fuere, 
Sin  perderme  ni  cansarse." 

Comedias,  Madrid,  1615,  fol.  97.  See  also  the  closing  lines  of  his  comedia 
Pedro  de  Urdemalas,  ibid.,  fol.  220. 

'In  Lope  de  Vega's  La  Ocasion  perdida  (before  1604),  Act  II,  stage 
direction :  La  Princesa  detras  de  un  muro  baxo,  y  dentro  se  vea  como  jardin. 
Act  III:  Assomase  la  Infanta  en  lo  alto  del  jardin.  So  in  La  octavo  Mara- 
villa  (Part  X,  1618),  Act  II:  Este  un  jardinillo  en  el  teatro,  y  saiga  el  Rey 
con  un  escardillo.    For  further  examples,  see  the  article  above  mentioned. 

*  Lope  de  Vega's  La  Qutnta  de  Florencia  (Part  II,  1609),  Act  II,  stage 
direction:  Ha  de  estar  en  el  tablado  una  fuente,  donde  ha  de  auer  estado 
todo  este  tiempo  Laura,  junto  a  ella  hinchando  el  cantarrillo. 

"Laura:      Por  estas  ramas  me  voy. 
Sale  Belardo. 
Belardo:  Estos  los  marmoles  son 

de  aquellas  fuentes  hermosas." 

*Lope  de  Vega's  El  Animal  de  Ungria  (Part  IX,  1617),  Act  I:  Subese 
fl  Nino  en  una  pena.  El  Principe  despenado  (1602),  Act  II:  Va  baxando 
por  la  sierra  la  Reyna  dona  Eluira  en  habito  de  Saluage  con  una  piel,  y 
parece  en  medio  de  la  sierra,  y  prosigue. 

°Lope  de  Vega's  San  Isidro  labrador  de  Madrid  (Part  VII,  1617),  Act 
II:  Vcase  un  arbol  con  algun  algodon  encima,  que  parezca  neuado,  y  unas 
palomas  en  el. 


96  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

In  one  instance  a  fort^  was  represented  by  a  painted  can- 
vas, and  again  a  castle. 

From  the  examples  just  cited  it  may  be  inferred  that 
painted  scenery,  at  all  events  in  Lope  de  Vega's  later  years, 
was  not  unknown  to  the  public  stage,  but  that  it  was  not 
movable  on  rollers  or  slides,  we  may  be  reasonably  sure. 

A  most  important  matter,  to  be  borne  constantly  in  mind 
when  treating  of  the  staging  of  plays,  is  that  of  chronology. 
Only  where  we  know  the  exact  date  of  a  play  or  a  reason- 
ably approximate  date  can  it  furnish  us  with  helpful  and 
reliable  evidence.  For  here  a  matter  of  a  very  few  years 
may  make  a  vast  difference  in  scenic  appliances. 

Lope  de  Vega  wrote  for  the  public  theater  for  half  a 
century,  and  naturally  there  were  many  innovations  upon 
the  stage  in  the  course  of  his  long  career.  In  the  Prologo 
del  Teatro  a  los  Letores,  prefixed  to  Part  XI  (1618)  of 
his  Comedias,  the  Theater  (i.e.,  the  stage),  speaking,  says: 
"Despues  que  a  viua  fuerca  de  tantas,  y  tan  diferentes 
comedias  de  varios  Poetas,  como  en  mi  se  han  representado 
(Letor  amigo,  o  enemigo,  como  tu  quisieres)  he  aprendido 
a  hablar,  aunque  compuesto  de  tablas,  y  lien^os,  con  mas 
trampas  que  un  hombre  que  no  tiene  de  que  pagar,  ni 
verguenga  de  deuer,  descanso  con  quexarme  de  los  muchos 
sinrazones  que  mis  duenos  padecen,  y  a  mi  me  hazen.'* 
From  this  we  see  that  lienqos,  or  canvases  for  scenery, 
were  getting  to  be  of  frequent  use. 

Again,  in  the  Prologo  Dialogistico,  prefixed  to  Part  XVI 
(1623),  the  Theater  says:  "I  have  come  to  great  misfor- 
tune, and  I  presume  that  it  is  due  to  one  of  three  reasons: 
either  because  there  are  no  good  actors,  or  because  the 
poets  are  bad,  or  because  the  auditors  lack  understanding ; 
for'the  managers  avail  themselves  of  machinery,  the  poets 

^  Lope  de  Vega's  Pobreza  no  es  Vileza  (written  in  1624  or  earlier),  Act 
II:  Salen  despues  de  auer  tocado  caxas  soldados,  y  el  Conde  de  Fuentes, 
aura  en  el  teatro  un  fuerte  pintado  de  canteria.  See  also  El  Casamiento  en 
la  Muerte  (Part  I,  1604),  Act  III,  and  La  Vitoria  del  Marques  de  Santa 
Cruz  (before  1618),  Act  II. 


APARIENCIAS  AND  TRAMOYAS  97 

of  the  carpenters,  and  the  auditors  of  their  eyes." 
Further :  "But  to  return  to  the  common  people,  I  say  that 
they  are  justly  moved  by  this  machinery  to  delight  the  eyes, 
but  not  by  that  of  the  Spanish  comedia,  where  the  figures 
rise  and  descend  so  clumsily,  and  animals  and  birds  appear 
in  like  manner,  which*  the  ignorance  of  the  women  and  the 
rude  mechanics  among  men  come  to  see."  ^ 

Lope's  complaint  is  significant,  moreover.  Inasmuch  as 
it  shows  that  a  great  change  had  come  over  his  audiences 
early  in  the  third  decade  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  vulgo  now  went  to-  see  the  play,  not  to  hear  it;  the 
comedia  had  become  a  spectacle  for  the  eyes.  And  so  the 
play  degenerated  and  the  splendor  of  scenery  and  stage 
setting  increased,  until  in  the  eighteenth  century  we  come 
to  a  playwright  like  Comella,  In  whose  comedia  Cristoval 
Colon,  Act  I,  we  find  the  following  stage  direction:  "Jar- 
din  magnifico,  adornado  de  macetas  cenadores,  y  fuente 
grande  en  el  medio,  con  asientos  al  rededor,  el  foro  repre- 
senta  el  Palacio  con  su  galeria  y  escaleras,  para  baxar;  la 
galena  estara  adornada  de  macetas  de  flores.  Aparece  la 
Reyna  sentada,  y  las  Damas  repartldas,  cogiendo  flores," 
etc.  Here  we  find  the  term  bastidor  (wing  of  stage 
scenery), 2  and  at  the  end  of  the  act,  the  direction:  Cue  el 
telon,  the  drop-curtain  falls. 

The  help  of  stage  machinery  of  various  kinds,  under  the 
name  of  artificios,  invenciones,  apariencias,  and  tramoyas, 
had  been  invoked  In  the  religious  representations  of  Spain 
since  very  early  times.  One  of  the  primary  requisites  was 
a  trap-door,  and  with  these  the  public  stages  were  early 
provided.  In  the  performance  of  the  autos  of  Corpus 
ChrlstI  the  apariencias  formed  a  very  important  feature 
of  the  festival  and  were  frequently  of  the  most  elaborate 
character,    the    municipalities    expending   large    sums    of 

^  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  Glasgow,  1904,  p.  289. 

*  Bastidores  or  wings  were  in  use  long  before  this,  and  we  find  them 
mentioned  at  the  beginning  of  1643  among  the  stage  appliances  at  La  Mon- 
teria,  Seville.     (Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  364,  and  see  above,  p.  92,  note  3.) 


98  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

money  in  their  preparation.  Upon  the  stage  of  the  public 
theaters,  on  the  other  hand,  we  may  well  imagine  that  the 
apariencias  or  tramoyas  were  of  a  more  crude  and  inexpen- 
sive kind.  Still,  Lope  de  Vega,  as  we  have  seen,  early 
complained  of  the  great  importance  attached  to  stage  ma- 
chinery, and  he  again  refers  to  the  work  of  the  stage 
carpenter  in  the  Prologue  to  Part  XIX  of  his  Comedias 
(Madrid,  1623).  Here,  too,  in  a  dialogue  between  the 
Poet  and  the  Theater,  the  former  says:  "Since  they  use 
apariencias ,  which  they  call  tramoyas,  I  do  not  care  to 
publish  my  comedias."  He  never  concealed  his  contempt 
for  the  arts  of  the  scene-painter  and  the  machinist.  As 
Mr.  Fitzmaurice-Kelly  says:  "Lope  needed  no  scene-paint- 
ers to  make  good  his  deficiencies.  In  iAy  Verdades!  que 
en  Amor  (1625),  he  laughs  at  the  pieces 

en  que  la  carpinteria 
suple  concetos  y  trazas."  * 

Likewise  in  Don  Quixote  (Part  I,  chap,  xlviii),  the  Ca- 
non, in  the  course  of  his  remarks  on  the  drama  of  the  day, 
says :  "Y  aun  en  las  [comedias]  humanas  se  atreven  a  hacer 
milagros,  sin  mas  respecto  ni  consideracion  que  parecerles 
que  alii  estara  bien  el  tal  milagro  y  apariencia  como  ellos 
llaman,  para  que  gente  ignorante  se  admire  y  venga  a  la 
comedia."  Apariencia  or  tramoya  was,  therefore,  the 
technical  term  for  stage  machinery,  and  commenting  on 
this  passage,  Clemencin  says:  "Apariencia  es  tramoya  6 
maquina  teatral  para  representar  trasformaciones  6  acon- 
tecimientos  prodigiosos."^ 

The  term  appearances  was  also  used  on  the  English 

*  Chapters  on  Spanish  Literature,  London,  1908,  p.  182.    See  also  the  close 
of  Lope's  Epistola  a  Pablo  Bonnet,  the  verses  beginning: 

"El  Teatro  de  Espana  se  ha  resuelto 
En  aros  de  cedazos  y  clauos." 

*  Edition  of  Madrid,  1833,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  409.     In  1633,  when  Gonzalez  de 
Salas  published  his  Nueva  Idea  de  la  Tragedia  antigua,  he  spoke  of  the 


THE  FRENCH  STAGE  99 

stage.  When  Cartwright's  Royal  Slave  was  presented  be- 
fore the  King  and  Queen  at  Oxford,  in  August,  1636,  the 
changes  of  scene  then  produced  by  Inigo  Jones  were  called 
"appearances."  They  were  eight  in  number,  but  whether 
they  were  effected  by  sliding  frames  covered  with  canvas, 
or  by  falling  curtains  now  technically  called  "drops,"  is 
not  stated.* 

We  may  be  quite  sure  that  theatrical  machinery  had 
made  no  greater  advances  in  the  public  theaters  than  the 
stage  decoration.  That  this  machinery  was  still  very  rudi- 
mental  and  imperfect,  even  after  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  is  evinced  by  the  accounts  published  by 
Francis  van  Aerssen,  Madame  d'Aulnoy,  and  other  trav- 
elers in  Spain. 

From  the  above  instances  we  are  enabled  to  form  a  fairly 
clear  conception  of  the  resources  (or  perhaps  it  were  better 
to  say  the  limitations)  of  the  Spanish  stage  in  the  time  of 
the  great  creator  of  the  Spanish  drama.  They  also  furnish 
information  that  is  not  without  importance  as  to  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  Spanish  stage.  It  did  not  project  into 
the  theater,  as  did  the  Elizabethan  stage,  and  its  two  sides 
were  provided  with  hangings  (patios),  behind  which  the 
actors  could  retire,  and  from  which  they  could  make  their 
entrances. 

The  stage  setting  of  the  French  theater  at  this  time  was 
quite  different  from  that  in  use  in  Spain  and  England,  and 
in  the  time  of  the  playwright  Hardy  it  was  that  of  the 
Mysteries  of  the  Middle  Ages.  With  slight  modifications 
this  system  reigned  for  nearly  a  hundred  years  at  the 
Hotel  de  Bourgogne,  the  only  public  theater  in  Paris  dur- 
ing the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  and  the  first  thirty 

word  tramoya  as  if  it  had  been  but  lately  introduced:  "las  Machinas  de  la 
Scena,  las  appariencias  quiero  decir,  1  ingenlosos  artificios,  a  quien  vulgar- 
mente  los  Nuestros  Uaman  con  un  vocable  nuevo  Tramoias."  (Edition  of 
Madrid,  1778,  Vol.  I,  p.  248.)  This  seems  to  show  that  the  work  was 
written  some  years  before  the  date  of  its  publication. 
*  Collier,  Annals  of  the  Stage,  London,  1831,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  372. 


loo  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

years  of  the  seventeenth  century.^  This  stage  of  the  Mys- 
teries consisted  of  two  parts:  the  mansions  and  the  stage 
proper,  or  the  free  space  between  and  in  front  of  the 
mansions.  These  mansions  were  simply  houses  or  build- 
ings to  which  the  action  was  transported  during  the  play. 
Thus  one  might  represent  the  house  of  the  Virgin  at  Naza- 
reth, another  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  another  the  palace 
of  Pilate,  which  formed  so  many  mansions  in  the  Mystery 
of  the  Passion.  In  other  words,  the  simultaneous  scenery 
of  these  religious  plays  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  public  stage,  which  was  divided  into  several 
regions,  and  France  might  be  represented  by  one  corner 
of  the  theater,  Turkey  by  the  other,  and  Spain  in  the 
middle  of  the  stage.  Indeed,  the  author  of  the  Traite  de 
la  disposition  du  poeme  dramatique  (1637),  quoted  by 
Rigal,2  says:  "II  ne  faut  pas  introduire  ni  approuver 
la  regie  qui  ne  represente  qu'un  lieu  dans  la  scene." 
It  is  this  system  to  which  Corneille  objected  in  his 
Examen  de  M elite  (1629),  when  he  says:  "Common 
sense,  which  has  been  my  sole  guide,  gave  me  sufficient 
aversion  to  this  horrible  confusion,  which  placed  Paris, 
Rome,  and  Constantinople  on  the  same  stage,  to  reduce 
mine  to  a  single  city."^  Here,  too,  we  are  told  that  a  wood 
was  represented  merely  by  a  little  foliage,  an  encampment 
by  half  a  tent,  and  that  the  sea  and  the  mountains  "were 
absolutely  lacking  in  majesty."^  "Besides  the  permanent 
decorations  and  those  which  appeared  only  at  certain 
times  in  the  performance,  the  players  used  also  more  or 
less  ingenious  machinery,  but  whether  these  trues  were  al- 
ways successful,  is  more  than  we  care  to  affirm." '^  That 
this  stage  setting  as  late  as  1642  was  very  crude  and  far 
from  satisfactory  is  shown  by  the  complaints  made  by 
d'Aubignac  concerning  the  manner  in  which  his  tragedy 

*Rigal,  Le  Theatre  franqais  avant  la  periode  classique,  Paris,  1901,  pp. 
238  ff. 
^  Ibid.,  p.  246.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  247.  *  Ibid.,  p.  252.  *  Ibid.,  p.  255. 


PARTICULARES  loi 

La  Pucelle  d' Orleans  was  staged.  Bapst  says  that  in  1634 
the  stage  at  the  Hotel  de  Bourgogne  was  ornamented  with 
pilasters,  cornices,  moldings,  arabesques,  etc.  "It  was  the 
Italian  stage  setting  on  a  small  scale  .  .  .  there  were 
three  doors,  one  at  the  back  and  one  on  each  side,  without 
counting  the  lucarnes."  The  canvases  were  painted  in  per- 
spective. In  1635  representations  took  place  by  daylight, 
without  lamps.  At  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury a  police  ordinance  fixed  half-past  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  as  the  closing  hour  of  the  spectacles  in  winter. 
In  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Opera, 
Moliere,  and  the  Comedie  Frangaise  had  no  place  for 
their  performances  except  the  tennis  courts,  which  must 
have  been  most  unsatisfactory,  both  optically  as  well  as 
acoustically,  to  both  auditors  and  actors.^  In  these  ten- 
nis courts,  transformed  into  theaters,  the  rich  and  the 
nobility  occupied  boxes  or  stalls,  while  "the  less  fortunate 
public  stood  in  the  part  of  the  building  that  was  not 
occupied  by  the  stage."  ^ 

The  poverty  of  scenic  effects  upon  the  Spanish  stage 
applies,  as  already  stated,  only  to  the  public  theaters,  like 
the  Cruz  and  the  Principe  in  Madrid,  where  an  entrance 
fee  was  paid.  The  representations  which  took  place  in 
the  palaces  of  great  nobles  (these  representations  were 
called  p articular e s)  ^^  and  those  given  before  the  King 
in  his  private  theaters  (see  below,  Chapter  X),  were 
generally  accompanied,  as  we  may  readily  imagine,  by 
ingenious  and  costly  scenic  effects  and  stage  machinery. 

*  Bapst,  Essai  sur  I'histoire  du  Theatre,  Paris,  1893,  p.  167. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  171. 

'  In  October,  1602,  Antonio  Granados  represented  a  comedia  before  D. 
Diego  Gomez,  "who  was  sick  with  quartan  fever,"  receiving  200  reals 
(Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  353)  ;  in  February,  1603,  Nicolas  de  los 
Rios  received  300  reals  for  a  comedia  which  he  represented  before  the 
Duke  of  Lerma,  "en  la  Huerta  de  la  Ribera  del  Pisuerga"  {ibid.,  p.  353)  ; 
and  in  November,  1603,  the  same  autor  de  comedias  received,  for  going 
from  Valladolid  to  Tordesillas,  and  representing  four  comedias  before  the 
King,  1200  reals,  besides  371  reals  for  expenses.  This  was,  apparently, 
also  a  festival  given  by  the  Duke  of  Lerma.     {Ibid.,  p.  354.) 


I02  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

We  read,  for  instance,  that  in  1618  Luis  Velez  de 
Guevara's  comedia  El  Caballero  del  Sol  was  performed 
by  the  company  of  Baltasar  Pinedo  in  the  house  of  D. 
Juan  Gaytan  de  Ayala,  in  the  Calle  de  Atocha,  "with  the 
same  invenciones  and  stage  arrangement  with  which  this 
comedia  was  represented  in  the  garden  of  his  Excellency 
the  Duke  of  Lerma."  This  latter  representation  was, 
doubtless,  intended  solely  for  the  delectation  of  the 
Duke's  friends.  The  performance  in  the  house  of 
D.  Gaytan  de  Ayala,  however,  is  the  only  one  that  I 
have  found  recorded,  in  which  an  admission  fee  was 
charged,  and  from  which  other  profits  accrued  to  the  per- 
son giving  the  comedia.  The  details  are  so  curious  that  I 
transcribe  them.  The  document  is  in  the  form  of  an 
agreement  between  D.  Juan  de  Vidaurre,  Captain  in 
Ordinary  to  his  Majesty  in  Madrid  and  his  entretenido 
in  that  city,  and  the  lessees  of  the  profits  which  result  to 
the  hospitals  from  the  performance  of  comedias,  reciting 
that  the  said  comedia  is  to  be  given  by  the  company  of 
Pinedo  in  Ayala's  house.  "That  the  said  D.  Juan  de 
Vidaurre  is  to  provide  the  said  invenciones  and  to  erect, 
at  his  own  cost,  in  the  said  house  and  yard,  the  theater  and 
boxes  (aposentos)  and  seats  {gradas)  necessary  for  the 
men  as  well  as  the  women  to  hear  the  said  comedia.  Like- 
wise that  the  said  lessees  are  to  give  to  the  said  D.  Juan 
forty  ducats.  In  part  payment  of  the  expenses.  Likewise 
that  all  that  may  result  by  way  of  profit  during  the 
whole  time  the  said  comedia  is  to  be  given  in  the  said 
corral — deducting  the  share  of  the  said  Baltasar  de 
Pinedo,  autor — as  well  from  the  entrance  fees  as  from  the 
aposentos,  and  all  other  profits,  are  to  be  divided  equally 
between  the  said  lessees  and  the  said  D.  Juan,  but  the 
forty  ducats  which  the  said  Baltasar  de  Pinedo  is  to  give 
to  the  said  D.  Juan  are  to  belong  solely  to  the  latter. 
All  the  fruits  and  confections  while  the  festival  lasts  are  to 
be  sold  by  Roque  Hernandez,  who  is  also  to  receive  eight 


THE  KNIGHT  OF  THE  SUN  103 

reals,  one  half  to  be  paid  by  the  said  lessees  and  one  half 
by  the  said  D.  Juan.  Likewise  the  said  forty  ducats  are 
to  be  returned  by  the  said  D.  Juan,  unless  he  erect  the 
said  theater  and  gradas  in  eight  days."^ 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  pp.  164,  165. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Costumes.  Their  impropriety.  Their  magnificence.  Costumes  in 
the  autos  sacramentales.  Performances  in  the  public  theaters. 
Prices  of  admission.  The  audiences.  T\\^mosqueteros.  Women 
in  the  cazuela.    Ruffianism  in  the  theaters.    Seats  in  the  corrales. 

As  there  was  little  thought  of  verisimilitude  in  the  stage 
setting,  so,  as  regards  the  costumes  worn  by  the  players, 
there  was  no  pretense  to  historical  accuracy.  All  charac- 
ters appeared  in  the  Spanish  costume  of  the  time.  This  Is 
due  to  a  peculiarity — shared  in  a  measure  by  the  drama  of 
other  nations  at  the  time  (particularly  the  English), 
but  eminently  characteristic  of  the  Spanish  drama— 
that  is,  the  tendency  to  translate  everything  which  it 
represents  into  the  present  and  actual  in  which  it  moves: 
that  the  remotest  past  and  the  strangest  occurrences  are 
transformed  into  the  national  usages  and  customs,  and 
that  what  is  most  foreign  is  changed,  as  it  were,  to  some- 
thing essentially  Spanish.  The  single  exception  was  in 
the  case  of  plays  founded  upon  Spanish  history  or  legend, 
— here  only  an  attempt  was  made  to  reproduce  the  spirit 
of  a  bygone  age.^ 

^  "Ein  ganz  eigenthiimlicher,  nirgends  in  gleicher  Starke  hervortretender 
Zug  der  spanischen  Comodie  nun  besteht  darin,  dasz  sie  in  Allem,  was  sie 
vorfiihrt,  sich  die  nachste  Gegenwart  und  Umgebung,  in  der  sie  selbst  lebt, 
abspiegeln  laszt:  dasz  sie  die  fernste  Vorzeit,  die  fremdeste  Begebenheit  in 
die  heimische  Sitte  und  Gewohnheit  hiniiberzieht  und  selbst  das  Entlegenste 
durch  Umwandlung  gleichsam  zum  spanischen  Nationalgut  macht.  Gewisz 
ist  diese  Art,  die  Gegenwart  zur  Grundlage  der  Darstellung  zu  niachen, 
die  einzige,  wie  ein  wahres  Nationalschauspiel  entstehen  kann.  Denn  das 
Drama,  das  vor  allem  auf  lebhafte  Anregung  seiner  Zuhorerschaft  bedacht 
sein  musz,  wird  durch  alles  Entlegene,  nicht  unmlttelbar  Verstandliche  in 
seiner  lebendigen  Wirkung  beeintrachtigt,  und  vermag  die  Begebenheiten 

104 


SPANISH  COSTUMES  105 

As  Ticknor  says,  "Coriolanus  was  dressed  like  Don 
John  of  Austria,  and  Aristotle  came  on  the  stage  with  a 
curled  periwig  and  buckles  on  his  shoes,  like  a  Spanish 
Abbe."*  Only  the  most  obvious  distinctions  were  made : 
a  Moor,  naturally,  would  appear  in  the  traditional  cos- 
tume, or,  at  all  events,  in  a  turban  and  long  mantle,  for 
these  were  known  to  the  audience,  but  the  Roman  wore  a 
short  cloak  and  sword.  Lope  de  Vega,  in  his  Arte  nuevo 
de  hacer  Comedias  (1609),  complains  of  the  impropriety 
of  Romans  wearing  breeches  upon  the  Spanish  stage,  for 
Greeks  and  Romans,  as  he  says,  appeared  with  cloak  and 
sword,  in  the  national  costume. ^  But  this  reproach  applies 
not  only  to  the  Spanish  drama,  but  to  all  others  of  the 
time  as  well.  Concerning  the  French  theater  we  are  told : 
"Le  meme  costume,  cheveux  tombants,  cuirasse  collant  au 
corps,  avec  tonnelets,  brodequins  et  casque  a  panache,  sert 
a  tous  les  roles  historiques,   depuis   David  et   Salomon 

und  Verhaltnisse  friiherer  Zeiten  oder  ferner  Lander  nur  insofern  zu  ge- 
brauchen,  als  es  sie  mit  der  Gegenwart  verkniipfen  und  seinen  Zuschauern 
in  nachste  Nahe  riicken  kann.  Nur  die  Stoffen  aus  der  nationalen  Geschichte 
oder  Sage  hat  sich  daher  die  spanische  Comodie  bemuht,  sich  genau  in  den 
Gcist  und  Ton  vergangener  Zeiten  zu  versetzen,  weil  diese  der  lebenden 
Generation  noch  mannigfach  vertraut  und  gegenwartig  waren;  die  Ge- 
schichten  des  classischen  Alterthums  und  des  Ausiandes  dagegen  finden  wir 
durchaus  phantastisch  und  in  der  Art  behandelt,  dasz  die  spanische  Natio- 
nalitat,  die  Sitte  und  Sinnesart  der  Gegenwart  iiberall  durchklingt." 
{Geschichte  der  dramatischen  Literatur  und  Kunst  in  Spanien,  Vol.  II,  pp. 
79,  80;  cf.  also  ibid.,  pp.  29,  30.)  These  remarks,  it  seems  to  me,  apply 
with  almost  equal  force  to  the  Elizabethan  drama.  An  audience  totally 
ignorant  of  the  facts  of  history  was  responsible  for  such  a  condition  and 
requisite  for  its  maintenance.  Hence  the  glaring  anachronisms  that  occur 
in  the  plays  of  Lope,  Shakespeare,  and  other  dramatists  of  the  period  passed 
unnoticed.  There  was,  for  instance,  no  hesitancy  in  introducing  firearms 
upon  the  stage  in  a  play,  the  action  of  which  took  place  long  before  gun- 
powder was  invented,  if  the  effect  of  the  action  were  heightened  thereby. 

^History  of  Spanish  Literature,  Vol.  II,  p.  539. 

'The  stage  directions,  however,  abundantly  show  that  some  regard 
was  had,  here  also,  for  the  fitness  of  things.  The  costume,  being  an  indi- 
cation of  rank,  helped  to  tell  the  story.  Apart  from  the  very  obvious  fact 
that  the  peasant  always  appeared  in  a  costume  suited  to  his  station  (ex- 
amples :  Lope  de  Vega,  Llegar  en  Ocasion{Yz.x\.  VI) ,  fol.  12,  v. : Salen  Fenisa, 
y  Otauio  con  gauan  de  labrador.  El  mejor  Maestro  el  Tiempo  (Part  VI), 
Act  III:  Sale  Oton  de  villano  con  un  azadon,  etc.,  etc.),  we  find  such  stage 


io6  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

jusqu'a  Charles  V."^  Of  course  the  Roman  citizens  of 
Shakespeare's  time  wore  the  English  costume  then  in 
vogue,  and  we  know  that,  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  Garrick  appeared  as  Macbeth  in  a  powdered  wig 
and  knee-breeches.  In  Spain,  too,  this  carelessness  as  to 
costume  was  maintained  until  far  into  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. D.  Jose  Clavijo  y  Fajardo,  speaking  of  the  autos  in 
1762,  says;  "Who  could  help  laughing  aloud  on  seeing  a 
Levite  appear,  in  the  first  age  of  man  {en  la  primera  edad 
del  hombre),  dressed  like  a  priest  and  wearing  a  miter? 
It  would  be  hard  to  say  which  were  the  greater  nonsense, 
to  introduce  a  Levite  at  that  period  or  to  clothe  him  in 
this  manner."  2 

When  it  is  said,  however,  that  the  costumes  had  little 
or  no  regard  for  historical  accuracy,  it  by  no  means  implies 
that  they  were  not  magnificent  and  costly.^  On  the  con- 
trary, there  is  ample  evidence  to  prove  that  Spanish  actors 
and  actresses  were  exceedingly  extravagant  in  the  matter 
of  costumes,  and  the  amount  of  money  expended  upon 
them  often  shows  an  improvidence  which  has  been  a  char- 
acteristic of  the  theatrical  profession  in  all  times.  In  1589 
Sebastian  de  Montemayor,  an  autor  de  comedias  or  theat- 
rical director,  and  Ana  de  Velasco,  his  wife,  paid  100 
ducats  (=  1 100  reals)  for  a  rich  skirt  and  jacket  ("precio 

directions  as:  Salen  dos  alabarderos,  vestidos  como  Tudescos,  con  su  bota 
de  Vino.  (Lope  de  Vega,  Urson  y  Valentin,  Part  I,  1604,  fol.  171.)  In  El 
Hi  jo  de  Reduan  (Part  I),  Act  I:  Entra  Gomel  con  un  alquizel  [Moorish 
cloak]  <^^  alarde,  y  un  bonete  Colorado,  y  unas  abarcas  de  pellejos{io\.  143). 
Servir  con  mala  Estrella  (Part  VI,  1616),  Act  I:  Salen  Rugero  de  Valoes  y 
Turin  su  criado  de  camino  a  lo  Frances.  Cervantes,  La  Gran  Sultana,  Act 
I,  opening:  Sale  Dona  Catalina  de  Oviedo  Gran  Sultana  vestida  a  la  Tur~ 
quesca,  and  a  little  later:  Salen  Madrigal  de  cautiuo,  y  Andres  en  abito  de 
Criego. 

*  Bapst,  Essai  sur  I'histoire  du  Theatre,  p.  176. 

'  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  p.  159.  The  same  writer  says:  "Un 
Elias  vestido  muy  pobremente,  con  mucha  barba  y  zapatos  encarnados  con 
galon  de  oro  ya  lo  habiamos  visto  en  los  Tres  Prodigios  del  Mundo,  pero 
Cristo  peinado  de  ala  de  pichon,  con  polvos  y  corbatin,  esto  estaba  reservado 
para  aumentar  las  deformidades  de  los  autos." 

•The  theatrical  wardrobe  was,  perhaps,  the  manager's  heaviest  item  of 


MAGNIFICENCE  OF  COSTUMES       107 

de  una  basquina  y  un  manteo  ricos,  para  representar").* 
In  1602  Melchor  de  Leon  paid  330  reals  for  a  skirt  of 
straw-colored  satin  ("basquina  de  razo  pajizo").^  In 
1607  Baltasar  Pinedo  paid  550  reals  for  hats,  feathers, 
and  silks.^  In  1610  Diego  Lopez  de  Alcaraz  paid  240 
reals  for  a  costume  "de  paiio  de  mezcla  aceitunada,"  or 
mixed  cloth  of  an  olive  color.*  In  161 7  Jusepe  Jimenez 
and  his  wife  Vicenta  de  Borja,  players  in  the  company 
of  Baltasar  Pinedo,  paid  440  reals  for  a  skirt  and 
waist  of  grosgrain  with  silk  lace  ("basquina  y 
jubon  de  gorgoran  con  pasamanos  de  seda").*^  In 
1 61 9  Juan  Bautista  Mufiiz  and  his  wife  Eugenia  Osorio 
paid  2400  reals  for  a  costume  of  greenish-gold  sateen  with 
gold  lace  and  edging  of  red  sateen  with  trimmings  of  gold 
fringe,  lined  with  red  taffeta  silk  ("vestido  de  raso  de  oro 
verde  con  pasamanos  de  oro  y  pestanas  de  raso  encarnado 
y  alamares  de  peinecillo  de  oro  forrado  en  tafetan  encar- 
nado").® In  1636  Pedro  de  la  Rosa,  theatrical  director, 
bought  from  Bartolome  Romero  and  his  wife  Antonia 
Manuela,  both  players,  "un  calzon  de  ropilla  y  ferreruelo 
[short  cloak,  without  cape]  de  lana  parda,  bordado  de 
coronas  y  palmas  de  oro  y  plata,  y  las  mangas  del  jubon 
de  canutillo  [embroidery]  de  plata,"  for  3600  reals.'^ 
One  may  form  some  conception  of  this  extravagance, 
bearing  in  mind  that  the  average  price  received  by  Lope 
de  Vega  for  a  comedia,  at  the  height  of  his  popularity, 
was  500  reals. 

Sometimes,  indeed,  the  costumes  used  in  the  representa- 
tion of  the  autos  sacramentales — which  were  given  at 
the   expense   of  the  municipality — were    so   costly   that 

expense.  A  conception  of  the  splendor  of  the  costumes  in  Spain  at  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  may  be  formed  from  the  "Memoria 
del  hato  para  representar"  sold  by  Baltasar  Pinedo  to  Juan  Granados,  on 
April  25,  1605,  printed  in  the  Bull.  Hispanique,  1907,  pp.  369-371. 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  337. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  78.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  loi.  *  Ibid.,  p.  119. 
'^Ibid.,  p.  163.                       *Ibid.,  p.  181.               ''  Ibid.,  p.  251. 


io8  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

the  actors  petitioned  the  city  for  an  extra  sum  to  defray 
this  expense,  alleging  that  the  costumes  were  useless  for 
any  other  purpose.  This  the  town  council  frequently  did, 
in  one  case  paying  200  reals. ^  Many  instances  are  re- 
corded where  actors  and  actresses  were  granted  a  special 
sum  by  the  town  council,  as  a  prize  for  having  particularly 
distinguished  themselves  in  the  performance  of  an  auto 
either  by  their  acting  or  costume. 

While  the  principal  players  possessed  their  own  cos- 
tumes, the  autores  de  comedias  provided  them  for  the 
lesser  members  of  their  companies.  Frequently,  also,  a 
town,  in  order  to  give  a  dance  or  comedia  for  some  fes- 
tival, hired  the  costumes  from  some  autor.  So  in  1597 
the  clothes  and  costumes  ("ato  y  vestidos  de  farsa")  of 
Caspar  de  Porres  were  hired;  in  1634  Sanchez  de  Vargas 
hired  out  his  costumes  for  a  dance  in  the  town  of  Mejo- 

^  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  pp.  307  and  322.  The  value  of  Spanish  money 
in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  is  a  very  difficult  matter 
to  ascertain  even  approximately,  as  it  varied  so  much  from  time  to 
time.  The  only  Spanish  coins  with  which  we  have  to  deal  are  the  ducado, 
the  real,  and  the  maravedi.  There  is  an  excellent  article  on  the  maravedi 
in  the  Revista  de  Archivos  for  March -April,  1905.  The  ducado  =  11  reals, 
and  the  real  plate  =  34  maravedis.  Minsheu's  Spanish  Dictionary,  London, 
1599,  tells  us  that  a  rya///i/fl/^=sixe  pence  =  34  maravedis.  The  maravedi, 
which  was  at  first  a  gold  coin,  became  in  the  time  of  Philip  III  (1598- 
1621)  a  copper  coin  of  very  small  value.  And  just  here  occurs  the  diffi- 
culty. Seldom  is  it  stated  whether  the  real  vellon  (copper)  or  the  real  de 
plata  (silver)  is  meant,  the  real  plate  being  equal  to  two  reals  copper.  It 
would  seem,  however,  that  at  one  time  there  was  little  difference  between 
the  real  de  plata  and  the  real  vellon.  As  an  example:  under  date  of  Valla- 
dolid,  September  i,  1604,  Caspar  de  Porres,  autor  de  comedias,  bound  him- 
self to  pay  to  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Ninos  Expositos  of  that  city  2000  reals 
silver,  which  he  had  received  in  vellon  from  the  treasurer  of  the  Brotherhood 
{Nuevos  Daios,  p.  88).  This  may  be  explained  by  a  note  which  I  find  in 
Gallardo,  Ensayo,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  11 50:  "Al  principio  deste  ano  (1604)  se 
quilataron  las  monedas  de  vellon  en  todos  los  reinos  de  Castilla,  doblandose 
el  valor  para  socorro  de  S.  M.  y  se  pregono  con  graves  penas  en  esta 
cibdad  (Cordoba)  a  29  de  Marzo  que  no  corriese  la  moneda  sino  quila- 
tada."  Again,  in  1612,  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano,  autor  de  comedias, 
promises  to  repay  1000  reals,  which  he  had  borrowed,  "in  silver  and  not  in 
vellon."  {Nuevos  Datos,  p.  129.)  I  believe  that  the  silver  real  of  the 
double  value  of  the  real  vellon  is  called  the  real  de  plata  doble.  (See 
Nuevos  Datos,  p.  160.)  An  account  of  the  value  of  money  at  a  later  period 
(1667)  is  furnished  by  a  work  entitled  Hispania  Illustrata,  or  the  Maxims 


HIRING  OF  COSTUMES  109 

rada.*  In  1636  Andres  de  la  Vega  hired  out  to  Pedro 
de  la  Rosa,  to  be  returned  after  the  festival  of  Corpus, 
a  costume  of  Moses,  a  ropon  for  Aaron,  a  capuz  for  a 
Jew,  and  a  ropon  for  a  Moor,  together  with  eight  cloaks 
of  taffeta,  for  2500  reals. ^  In  1636  Mariana  de  Aparicio 
agreed  with  Andres  de  la  Vega  to  play  second  parts  in  his 
company,  he  to  furnish  the  costumes.^  Andres  de  la 
Vega  seems  to  have  been  possessed  of  a  rich  and  extensive 
theatrical  wardrobe,  which  he  frequently  hired  out.* 
Some  idea  of  the  extent  and  quality  of  the  ward- 
robe of  a  prominent  theatrical  manager  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  seventeenth  century  is  furnished  by  the  list 
of  the  effects  of  Jacinto  Riquelme,  which  were  attached  in 
1652  to  compel  the  performance  of  a  contract  to  act  in 
the  Corral  de  La  Monteria  in  Seville.^  In  this  list  are 
included  all  the  properties,  scenery,  and  machinery  neces- 
sary to  represent  what  were  called  comedias  de  apariencias, 
"besides  the  costumes  for  the  fools  and  peasants."® 
It  may  not  be  without  interest  to  note  here  that  in  1608 

of  the  Spanish  Court,  etc.,  London,  1703.  On  p.  53  we  find:  "In  1667,  500 
doblones  =  £^^0  sterling.  A  doblon  =  ^  pieces  of  8  =  74  reales  vellon,  and 
that  a  real  plate  =  6d.  and  a  real  vellon  =  zVid."  From  such  data  as  I 
have  been  able  to  gather,  I  infer  that  the  purchasing  power  of  a  real  in  the 
early  seventeenth  century  was  about  five  times  its  value  in  present  money, 
i.e.,  that  a  real  plate  =  about  25  cents.  So  we  are  told  that  in  Moliere's 
time,  which  was  nearly  half  a  century  later,  money  was  worth  five  times 
as  much  as  at  present,  i.e.,  in  1654  six  cents  livres  =  trois  mille  francs. 
(Soulie,  Recherches  sur  Moliere,  p.  68.)  A  convenient  norm  for  the  value 
of  money  in  Spain  at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  is  furnished  by  an 
instrument  dated  March  26,  1596,  by  which  Baltasar  Pinedo,  autor  de  come- 
dias, agrees  to  pay  to  Gabriel  Rubio,  tailor,  of  Madrid,  24  ducats  = 
264  reals,  for  board  and  lodging  for  six  months  for  himself  and  servant,  at 
the  rate  of  4  ducats  per  month,  i.e.,  n  reals  per  week,  for  two  persons. 
(Nuevos  Datos,  p.  43.)  The  great  depreciation  of  money  during  the  reign 
of  Philip  IV.,  and  the  many  attempts  to  regulate  its  value,  render  any 
definite  general  statement  impossible. 

*  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  238.  '  Ibid.,  p.  252.  '  Ibid.,  p.  258. 

*  See  ibid.,  pp.  269,  271. 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  pp.  398  ff.    For  a  list  of  the  properties  and  cos- 
tumes of  Diego  Lopez  de  Alcaraz  in  1602,  see  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  63. 

*"Todo  el  jato  que  llaman  ornato  del  vestuario,  panos  y  maromas,  y 
vestidos  de  villanos  y  bobos,  y  garruchos  y  hierros  y  tramoyas." 


no  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Shakespeare  was  proprietor  of  the  wardrobe  and  proper- 
ties of  the  Blackfriars  theater,  besides  owning  four  shares, 
which  brought  him  in  £133  6s.  Sd.  "These  properties,  we 
may  conclude,  he  lent  to  the  company  for  a  certain  consid- 
eration."^ 

When  in  financial  straits,  a  condition  that  has  ever  been 
familiar  to  the  followers  of  Thespis,  the  mainstay  of  the 
player  or  manager  was  the  wardrobe,  which  he  could  al- 
ways pawn  with  some  money-lender.^  A  curious  case  is 
that  of  Lorenzo  Hurtado  de  la  Camara,  who  in  1639  paid 
1000  reals  to  redeem  a  costume  which  he  had  pawned  to 
the  convent  of  S.  Juan  de  Dios  in  Ocafia.^  Indeed, 
with  very  few  exceptions,  both  autores  de  comedias 
and  actors  seem  to  have  been  almost  constantly  in 
debt,  as  the  many  obligations  and  agreements  collected 
by  Perez  Pastor  amply  show.  To  compel  the  pay- 
ment of  a  debt,  recourse  was  had  to  the  very  efficacious 
remedy  of  clapping  the  debtor  into  prison.  Not  infre- 
quently, as  the  records  prove,  did  this  misfortune  befall 
the  theatrical  manager  and  actor  of  those  days.  In  1601 
Rodrigo  Osorio,  autor  de  comedias,  was  imprisoned  at 
Madrid  for  a  debt  of  700  reals,  being  released  on  the 
guaranty  of  his  son-in-law  Diego  Lopez  de  Alcaraz  and 
his  daughter  Magdalena  Osorio  to  pay  the  debt;^  and  in 
1605  Alonso  de  Riquelme,  a  famous  autor,  was  impris- 
oned in  Valladolid  for  a  debt  of  900  reals.*^ 

^Shakespeare's  Works,  ed.  Collier,  Vol.  I,  p.  191.  Greg  {Henslo<we's 
Diary,  II,  p.  130)  says:  "The  wardrobe  of  a  company  appears  to  have  been 
a  complicated  aflPair;  part,  like  the  stage  properties,  belonged  to  the  com- 
pany in  general,  that  is  to  say,  was  the  common  property  of  the  sharers, 
while  part  belonged  to  individual  actors.  Thus,  we  find  Pembroke's  men 
pawning  their  'parel  in  1593,  and  Edward  Alleyn  buying  Jones's  share  in 
the  common  stock  of  playing-apparel,  etc.,  belonging  to  Worcester's  men  in 
1589,"  etc. 

*A  list  of  the  theatrical  wardrobe  of  the  stranded  company  of  Jeronimo 
de  Amelia,  seized  for  debt  in  Valencia  in  1628,  is  given  in  the  Bull.  His- 
panique,  1906,  p.  377. 

*  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  315. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  54. 

^ Ibid.,  p.  91.     (See  also  Bull.  Hisp.  (1907),  p.  374.) 


TIME  OF  PERFORMANCES  iii 

With  the  passing  of  the  Corral  de  Puente,  about  1584, 
the  theaters  of  Madrid  were  reduced  to  two,  the  Corral  de 
la  Cruz  and  the  Corral  del  Principe.  These  continued  to  be 
the  only  public  theaters  in  Madrid  till  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  King  had  his  own  private  thea- 
ters, and  from  an  account  of  the  events  which  happened 
at  court  between  1599  and  1614,  written  by  the  historian 
Luis  Cabrera  de  Cordoba,  it  follows  that  private  perform- 
ances of  comedias  must  have  taken  place  in  the  King's 
palace,  the  Alcazar,  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Besides  this  stage,  which  was  erected  in 
one  of  the  rooms  of  the  palace,  Philip  the  Third,  in  1607, 
caused  a  theater  to  be  built  in  the  Casas  del  Tesoro,  near 
the  palace.^ 

Dramatic  performances  in  the  public  theaters  always 
took  place  in  the  afternoon,  at  three  o'clock  in  summer  and 
at  two  in  winter.^  By  an  ordinance  of  1608  it  was  pro- 
vided that  the  doors  of  the  theaters^  should  not  be  opened 

*  Cabrera  says  under  the  date,  Madrid,  January  20,  1607:  "Hdse  hecho 
en  el  segundo  patio  de  las  casas  del  Tesoro  un  teatro  donde  vean  sus  Ma- 
gestades  las  comedias,  como  se  representan  al  pueblo  en  los  corrales  que 
estan  deputados  para  ello,  porque  puedan  gozar  mejor  de  ellas  que  quando 
se  les  representa  en  su  sala,  y  asi  ban  hecho  alrededor  galerias  y  ventanas 
donde  este  la  gente  de  Palacio,  y  sus  Magestades  iran  alii  de  su  Camara 
por  el  pasadizo  que  esta  hecho,  y  las  veran  por  unas  celosias."  {Relaciones 
de  las  Cosas  sucedidas  en  la  Corte  de  Espana  desde  el  A  no  i$gghasta  1614, 
edited  by  D.  Pascual  de  Gayangos,  Madrid,  1857,  P-  298.)  It  appears 
that  Philip  IV.,  in  1622,  the  year  after  his  accession  to  the  throne,  enter- 
tained the  project  of  building  another  theater  in  Madrid.  (Perez  Pastor, 
Nuevos  Datos,  p.  191.    See  below,  p.  237.) 

'Court  perfornnances,  on  the  other  hand,  were  generally  given  at  night; 
this  was  also  the  rule  in  England.  (Malone,  Historical  Account  of  the 
English  Stage,  p.  185.) 

'  Don  Luis  Fernandez-Guerra,  in  his  excellent  biography  of  Alarcon,  p. 
181,  says  that  the  Corral  de  la  Cruz  had  seven  doors  and  the  Principe  eight, 
"cada  cual  para  su  objeto,  ya  de  subir  a  los  aposentos,  ya  para  el  escenario 
y  su  servicio,  ahora  para  entrada  de  hombres,  ahora  para  las  mugeres; 
cual,  la  de  la  alojeria;  una,  la  del  cocheron;  y  la  ultima,  la  de  la  taberna." 
His  authority  for  this  statement  is  Armona,  Memorias  cronologicas.  The 
latter  work,  because  of  the  recent  publications  of  Perez  Pastor  and  Cotarelo, 
is  now  of  little  importance.  I  have  a  copy  of  portions  of  it,  and  under  the 
caption  "Visita  que  en  el  ano  de  1606  se  hizo  por  el  visitador  del  Real 
Hospedaje,  etc.   Ano  de  1606,"  it  is  stated  that  the  Corral  del  Principe  has 


112  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

until  noon,  and  that  representations  should  begin,  during 
the  six  months  beginning  October  i,  at  two  o'clock,  and 
during  the  remaining  six  months  at  four  in  the  afternoon, 
"in  such  a  manner  that  the  performance  may  be  concluded 
an  hour  before  nightfall,"  and  the  comisarios  and  bailiffs 
were  to  take  particular  care  that  this  proviso  be  ful- 
filled. The  same  ordinance  likewise  provided  that  posters 
should  be  put  up  to  indicate  clearly  the  comedias  which 
were  to  be  represented  each  day.^  The  same  provisions 
are  again  found  in  the  "Regulations  for  the  Theaters," 
issued  in  1641,  to  which  we  shall  recur  in  a  succeeding 
chapter.  A  performance  generally  lasted  from  two  to 
three  hours. ^ 

The  price  of  admission  to  the  corrales  varied  at  different 

eight  doors,  the  first  to  ascend  to  the  aposentos  and  the  other  five  {sic)  for 
entrance,  but  there  is  besides  "a  casa  con  dos  puertas  en  que  hay  una  tienda 
y  taberna."  These  two  doors  evidently  did  not  give  access  to  the  theater. 
Likewise  in  1638  there  were  only  six  entrances.  In  the  "Visita  general  que 
se  hizo  el  ano  de  1606,"  to  the  Calle  de  la  Cruz,  we  find:  "Corral  de  la 
Cruz.  Por  no  estar  labrado  no  se  taso,"  which  I  do  not  understand.  In 
1638  there  were  seven (  ?)  doors:  one  to  the  Alogeria,  two  to  the  aposentos, 
one  for  women,  and  another  entrance  is  described  as  a  coach-house 
{cochera).  The  latter  is  probably  accounted  for  as  follows:  in  163 1  the 
King  commanded  that  his  entrance  to  the  Corral  de  la  Cruz,  which  was  the 
property  of  the  Duke  of  Medina  de  las  Torres,  should  be  changed  to  a 
more  retired  and  more  decent  place.  In  April,  1631,  a  corral  was  taken 
which  belonged  to  D.  Fernando  Segura  in  the  Plazuela  del  Angel,  and  an 
entrance  made,  so  that  the  coach  of  the  King  could  be  driven  to  the  stair- 
way, a  rent  of  2000  reals  yearly  to  be  paid.  Since,  in  doing  this,  a  part  of 
the  property  of  Doiia  Potencia  de  Quesada  would  have  to  be  occupied,  it 
was  necessary  to  rent  this  also  for  75  ducats  yearly.  {Averiguador,  Vol.  I, 
p.  171.)  This  entrance  was  still  in  existence  in  1653. 
^  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  p.  623. 

'  "La  comedia  aora  empe^amos, 
De  aqui  k  dos  horas  saldremos, 
Quando  ya  estard  acabada. 
Que  todo  lo  acaba  el  tiempo." 
(Loas  to  Comedias  of  Lope  de  Vega,  Part  I,  Valladolid,  1604,  p.  3.) 

And  again: 

"Boluamos  £  lo  importante, 
Que  es  el  silencio  pedido, 
Por  tres  horas  no  cabales." 

{Ibid.,  p.  7.) 


THE  PRICE  OF  ADMISSION  113 

times.  What  it  was  in  Madrid  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  we  learn  from  a  document  dated  March 
6,  1589,  published  by  Pellicer.^  According  to  this,  "every 
person  who  entered  to  see  the  said  comedias  paid  for  his 
seat  4  quartos  (==  16  maravedis) ,  and  at  the  entrance,  be- 
sides what  he  gives  to  the  players,  he  pays  another  quarto, 
in  such  manner  that  each  person  who  enters  the  comedia 
pays  5  quartos,  besides  what  he  gives  to  the  players."  ^  In 
Seville,  "those  who  went  to  see  the  comedias  of  Ganassa 
in  1575  at  the  Corral  de  Don  Juan  paid  half  a  real  en- 
trance, one  real  for  each  silla,  and  a  cuartillo  (=  one 
fourth  of  a  real)  for  each  seat  on  a  banco. "^  About  1585 
the  price  of  a  seat  on  the  bancos  in  the  Corral  del  Principe 
was  a  half-real.*  This  price  was  afterward  increased,  but 
in  April,  1602,  the  court  being  no  longer  in  Madrid  (it 
was  removed  to  Valladolid  in  January,  1601,  and  did  not 
return  to  Madrid  till  the  end  of  January,  i6o6),  the  town 
council  of  Madrid  again  lowered  the  prices  and  declared: 
"that  the  autor  (manager)  receive  from  each  man  and 
woman,  at  the  entrance,  12  maravedis;  and  that  the  Gen- 
eral Hospital  receive,  as  it  had  received,  two  maravedis 
from  each  person  at  the  entrance.""^  Thus  the  entrance 
fee  for  the  mosqueteros  (who  stood  in  the  patio)  ^  and  for 
the  women,  was  14  maravedis,  or  a  little  less  than  half  a 

*  Tratado  historico,  Vol.  II,  p.  191. 

*"EI  Hospital  General  de  Madrid  tiene  dos  Corrales,  donde  se  represen- 
tan  Comedias,  y  cada  una  de  las  personas  que  entran  i  ver  las  dichas  Co- 
medias, dan  por  el  asiento  en  que  se  asientan  quatro  quartos,  y  a  la  entrada, 
ademas  de  lo  que  se  da  a  los  Comediantes,  it  da  otro  quarto:  por  manera 
que  son  cinco  quartos  los  que  cada  uno  de  los  que  entran  en  la  Comedia 
paga,  demas  de  lo  que  dan  k  los  Comediantes,"  etc.  These  5  quartos  (= 
20  maravedis)  were  therefore  the  limosnas,  or  alms,  which  was  the  share 
of  the  hospitals  from  each  one  who  entered  the  corrales ;  and  in  addition  to 
this  the  spectator  had  to  pay  a  sum  to  the  manager  of  the  players.  This 
charge  the  theologians,  to  whom  it  was  referred,  did  not  consider  excessive 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  four  and  even  six  reals  were  at  that  time  paid  in 
Madrid  for  a  seat  to  see  a  bull-fight.     {Ibid.,  p.  195.) 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  51. 

*  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  p.  28. 

*  Pirez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  73. 


114  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

real.  The  price  of  the  sillas  and  seats  on  the  bancos 
(which  held  three  persons)  was  probably  the  same  as  be- 
fore, or  one  real.  The  court  having  returned  to  Madrid 
in  January,  1606,  another  decree  was  issued,  dated  March 
21,  1606,  in  which  the  deputies  of  the  Brotherhoods  were 
called  upon  to  fix  the  price  of  admission  to  the  corrales, 
restoring  the  prices  in  vogue  when  the  court  left  Madrid. 
They  agreed  that  from  the  first  day  of  Pascua  de  Resur- 
reccion  every  man  admitted  to  the  gradas  was  to  pay 
16  maravedis,  and  every  woman  who  entered  the  large 
compartment  for  women  (cazuela)^  20  maravedis,  which 
included  the  quarto  (=4  maravedis)  for  the  General  Hos- 
pital ;  each  aposento  was  1 2  reals  and  each  banco  [seat  on  a 
banco  ?]  one  real ;  each  of  the  celosias  which  has  its  entrance 
through  the  house  of  the  Condesa  de  Lemos,  12  reals,  and 
that  likewise  the  General  Hospital  should  receive  at  the 
entrance  doors  of  the  corrales  a  quarto  from  each  person, 
and  the  same  from  the  persons  who  occupy  the  aposentos, 
"which  are  the  prices  which  are  ordinarily  paid  when  the 
court  is  in  Madrid."^ 

*  Pellicer,  Tratado  Historico,  etc.,  Vol.  I,  p.  88.  Information  concerning 
the  price  of  admission  to  the  English  theaters  of  the  period  is  not  very 
definite.  Malone  says:  "The  galleries  or  scaffolds  and  that  part  of  the 
house  which  in  private  theaters  was  named  the  pit,  seem  to  have  been  at  the 
same  price,  and  probably  in  houses  of  reputation,  such  as  the  Globe  and 
that  in  Blackfriars,  the  price  of  admission  into  those  parts  of  the  theater 
was  six  pence,  while  in  some  meaner  playhouses  it  was  only  a  penny,  in 
others  two  pence.  The  price  of  admission  into  the  best  rooms  or  boxes  was, 
I  believe,  in  Shakespeare's  time  a  shilling;  though  afterward  [about  1640] 
it  appears  to  have  risen  to  two  shillings,  and  half  a  crown.  At  the  Black- 
friars theater  the  price  of  the  boxes  was,  I  imagine,  higher  than  at  the 
Globe."  (Historical  Account  of  the  English  Stage,  pp.  77-79.)  As  regards 
the  English  actors  in  Germany,  Creizenach  gives  the  following  prices  of 
admission  to  their  performances:  "In  Ulm  and  Frankfort  the  ordinary  price 
was  2  Kreuzer;  in  the  former  city  at  first  1  Kreuzer;  in  Strassburg  3  Kr., 
though  the  players  would  have  preferred  a  Batzen  (=4  Kr.)  ;  later,  in 
1618,  it  was  I  Batzen.  In  Cologne  2-4  Albus  (Albus  =  2  Kr.).  In  Mem- 
mingen  in  1600  it  was  4  Kr.  In  Niirnberg  at  first  5/2  Batzen,  after- 
ward as  high  as  6  Kr.  In  Miinster  in  1599,  one  Schilling.  The 
difference  in  price  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  in  some  instances  the 
cost  of  the  seat  is  included.  Where  this  is  not  the  case,  the  price  given  is 
for  estrance  only,  an  additional  sum  being  required  for  a  seat.    In  Frank- 


THE  CORRAL  DE  DONA  ELVIRA       115 

In  the  ordinance  of  1 608  we  find  that  every  person  who 
entered  the  theater  paid  5  quartos  (^^  20  maravedis)  at 
the  door,  men  as  well  as  women,  of  which  5  quartos  the 
autor  received  3,  and  the  hospitals  of  Madrid  2  quartos.^ 

In  the  Corral  de  Dona  Elvira  at  Seville,  in  16 10,  the 
price  of  a  silla  was  half  a  real  and  the  banco  one  real,  and 
each  aposento  6  reals.^  Here  8  maravedis  was  the 
amount  exacted  from  each  entrance  fee  for  the  benefit  of 
the  city  hospital.^  This  seems  to  have  been  in  addition  to 
the  regular  charge  for  entrance.  This  admission  fee  I 
infer  to  have  been  16  maravedis  (=  4  quartos),  from  the 
petition  of  Juan  Jeronimo  Valenciano,  an  autor  de  cotne- 
dias,  who,  in  1625,  sets  forth  that  the  lessees  of  the 
Coliseo  had  refused  to  advance  him  and  his  company  the 
customary  sum  as  an  ayuda  de  costa,  and  he  therefore 
begs  that  he  be  given  a  license  to  perform  in  Triana, 
within  the  walls,  in  such  place  as  he  may  find,  receiving 
4  quartos  from  each  person.* 

In  1 617  the  price  of  a  silla  in  the  Coliseo  or  the  Doha 
Elvira  was  4  quartos,  while  the  banco  remained  at  one  real. 
It  was  particularly  specified  in  the  leases  of  these  theaters 

fort  in  1 601  the  entrance  was  8  Pfennig,  and  4  Pfennig  additional  for  a 
seat  in  the  gallery,  which  is  designated  as  a  preferred  place  in  1610.  In 
1613  the  Council  of  Niirnberg  fixed  the  entrance  fee  at  3  Kr.,  besides  3  Kr. 
for  a  seat  in  the  gallery.  In  i6n  at  Ulm  only  2  Kr.  could  be  charged,  and 
in  1 61 1  the  Council  of  Frankfort  declared  that  a  scale  of  prices  must  be 
hung  outside  the  theater  door.  Here,  too,  overcharges  were  frequent,  and 
in  1599  Sackville  had  to  pay  a  fine  of  20  Florins  for  overcharging.  At 
Leyden  in  1608  the  players  were  obliged  to  give  half  their  receipts  for  the 
support  of  poor  orphans,  the  guardians  of  the  orphans  furnishing  a  person 
at  the  outer  door  to  collect  this  amount."  {Die  Schauspieler  der  Engli- 
schen  Comedianten,  pp.  xvii-xix.)  Concerning  the  theaters  in  France,  a 
police  ordinance  of  1609  forbade  actors  charging  more  than  five  sous  to  the 
pit  and  ten  to  the  boxes  and  galleries.  These  prices  were  still  in  vogue 
about  1620,  but  in  1634  they  seem  to  have  been  about  nine  or  ten  sous  for 
the  pit  and  nineteen  or  twenty  for  the  boxes,  while  in  1652  it  was  fifteen 
sous  for  the  pit.  (Rigal,  Le  Theatre  franqais  avant  la  Periode  classique, 
pp.  156,  157.) 

^  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  p.  624. 

'  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  144. 

'Ibid.,  p.  147.  *  Ibid.,  p.  241. 


ii6  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

that  no  spectator  be  allowed  to  bring  into  the  theater  any 
seat  or  chair;  the  entrance  fee  entitled  to  standing  room 
only.  Admission  to  the  aposetttos,  which  were  numbered, 
was  by  a  numbered  ticket.^ 

The  ticket-scalper  or  speculator  is  not  a  creation  of  our 
own  day;  sometimes  he  was  the  lessee  of  the  theater,  for 
we  find  that,  in  1616,  Don  Francisco  Mejia,  lessee  of  the 
Dona  Elvira  in  Seville,  exacted  20,  24,  and  even  32  reals 
for  the  aposentos,  instead  of  6  reals,  and  2  reals  for  each 
silla  instead  of  24  maravedis.^  In  like  manner,  the  youth 
who  had  charge  of  the  sillas  and  bancos  in  La  Monteria  in 
1633  charged  3  reals  and  even  more,  instead  of  one,  the 
regular  price.^  And  in  1637  Domingo  Hernandez,  who 
hired  the  lower  aposentos  in  the  same  theater,  compelled 
strangers  to  pay  20  and  24  reals,  instead  of  12.^ 

There  were  generally  two  outer  doorkeepers  or  cobra- 
dares;  one  collected  the  money  at  the  principal  entrance 
and  the  other  at  the  entrance  for  women.  Two  collections 
were  made,  one  for  admission  and  a  second  for  the  benefit 
of  the  hospitals,'^  besides  the  extra  price  paid  for  a  seat, 
for  this  was  not  included  in  the  entrance  fee. 

Two  alguaciles,  or  peace  oflicers,  were  also  stationed, 
one  at  each  door,  and  frequently  also  one  in  the  women's 
gallery.  Besides  these  there  were  persons  to  collect  the 
extra  charge  for  the  sillas  and  bancos,  and  others  in  charge 
of  the  aposentos  or  rooms. 

Green  and  dried  fruits,  water,  sweets,  aloja  (a  kind  of 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  262. 

""Ikid.,  p.  178.  ""Ibid.,  p.  283.  *Ibid.,  p.  308. 

"There  are  many  references  showing  that  two  fees  were  collected: 
On  March  26,  1614,  Francisco  Munoz  entered  into  an  obligation  with 
Alonso  de  Heredia,  autor  de  comedias,  to  collect  at  both  doors  for  him 
(para  cobrar  a  la  puerta  y  traspuerta) .  (Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p. 
143.)  And  Cervantes,  in  the  "Adjunta  al  Parnaso,"  subjoined  to  his  Viaje 
del  Parnaso  (1614),  mentions  the  privileges  sent  by  Apollo  to  the  Spanish 
poets,  and  among  them:  "Item,  that  every  comic  poet  who  has  brought  out 
three  successful  comedias  shall  have  the  entry  of  the  theaters  without  pay- 
ment, unless  it  be  the  pittance  for  the  poor  at  the  second  door,  and  even 
this,  if  need  be,  shall  be  excused  him."    (Edition  of  Madrid,  1784,  p.  148.) 


ODI  PROFANUM   FULGUS        (^117 J) 

mead),  and  harquillos  (thin  rolled  wafers)  were  sold 
among  the  audience. 

The  audiences  were  often  unjust  and  noisy,  and  always 
hard  to  please.  The  mosqueteros,  or  infantry,  as  the  rough 
and  boisterous  crowd  who  stood  in  the  patio  or  pit,  were 
called,  constituted,  as  Ticknor  says,  the  most  formidable 
and  disorderly  part  of  the  audience,  and  were  especially 
feared  by  both  author  and  actor,  for  upon  their  whims  the 
success  or  failure  of  a  comedia  generally  depended.  Many 
are  the  complaints  made,  by  even  the  greatest  dramatists, 
of  the  injustice  and  turbulence  of  these  spectators. 

Lope  de  Vega  often  alludes  to  the  vulgo,  as  he  calls 
them,  in  a  tone  of  bitter  contempt,  and  Alarcon  shows  his 
utter  despisal  of  the  rabble  by  addressing  them  as  hestia 
fiera  (wild  beasts)  in  the  prologue  to  the  first  volume  of 
his  Comedias  (1628):  "To  you  I  address  myself,  wild 
beasts,  for  to  the  noble  it  is  unnecessary,  for  they  speak 
for  me  better  than  I  myself  could  do.  Here  are  my 
comedias:  treat  them  as  is  your  wont;  not  as  is  just,  but 
as  is  your  pleasure,  for  they  face  you  fearlessly  and  with 
contempt,  and  having  passed  the  ordeal  of  your  whistlings 
they  can  now  readily  pass  that  of  your  lurking-places.  If 
they  displease  you  I  shall  rejoice,  for  it  will  be  a  proof 
that  they  are  good;  if  they  please  you,  however,  then  the 
money  they  have  cost  you  will  be  for  me  a  sufficient  re- 
venge for  this  proof  of  their  worthlessness."  The  theat- 
rical manager  Lorenzo  Hurtado,  in  a  Loa  with  which  he 
began  his  representations  in  Madrid  for  the  second  time 

In  Seville,  in  1620,  8  maravedis  were  collected  for  the  benefit  of  the  city  at 
the  second  door  of  the  Corral  de  Dona  Elvira  from  each  person  who  en- 
tered, and  this  continued  to  be  the  custom,  for  we  read  that  in  1652  2 
quartos  (  =  8  maravedis)  were  also  collected  at  the  second  door  of  La 
Monteria  for  the  same  purpose.  (Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales  del  Teatro  en 
Sevilla,  pp.  213,  404.)  In  1619  at  the  Teatro  de  la  Olivera  in  Valencia  the 
price  of  an  aposento  was  4  reals  in  Valencian  money  (  =  5  reals  22  mara- 
vedis), which  was  afterward  increased  to  8  reals  16  maravedis.  The  share 
of  the  players  was  8  dineros  per  person,  and  the  entrance  6  dineros,  so  that 
the  general  admission  was  14  dineros,  which  was  paid  at  two  doors,  8  at 
the  first  and  6  at  the  second  door.    (Lamarca,  El  Teatro  de  Valencia,  p.  27.) 


ii8  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

(1632-34?),  addresses  the  mosqueteros,  "who  already 
have  their  whistles  at  their  lips,"^  and  Roque  de  Figueroa, 
the  friend  of  Lope  de  Vega,  and  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
theatrical  directors  of  his  time,  tries  to  conciliate  his  audi- 
ence in  a  Loa^.  He  speaks  in  turn  to  the  spectators  in  the 
different  parts  of  the  theater:  the  buncos  were  back,  of  the 
standing-place  of  the  mosqueteros  in  the  pit,  the  gradas 
were  the  rising  seats  on  the  sides,  the  aposentos  were 
rooms  whose  windows  extended  around  the  three  sides  of 
the  court-yard  in  different  stories,  the  uppermost  being  the 
desvanes.  These  were  occupied  by  persons  of  both  sexes 
who  could  afford  such  a  luxury,  as  Ticknor  says,  and  who 
not  unfrequently  thought  it  one  of  so  much  consequence 
that  they  held  it  as  an  heirloom  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion.^ Even  the  court  poet  Calderon  did  not  consider  it 
beneath  him  to  beg  the  indulgence  of  the  mosqueteros.^ 
Nor  were  the  women  who  attended  the  theater  any 

^  "A  los  mosqueteros, 

Que  en  el  pico  de  la  lengua 
Tienen  ya  los  silbos  puestos." 
{Entremeses  de  Quinones  de  Benavente,  ed.  Rosell, 
Vol.  I,  Madrid,  1872,  p.  32.) 
*  He  addresses  them  as  follows : 

"Sabios  y  criticos  bancos, 
Gradas  bien  intencionadas, 
Piadosas  barandillas, 
Doctos  desvanes  del  alma, 
Aposentos,  que  callando 
Sabeis  suplir  nuestras  faltas; 
Infanteria  espanola, 
Porque  ya  es  cosa  muy  rancia 
El  llamaros  mosqueteros." 

{Ibid.,  p.  172.) 

^History  of  Spanish  Literature,  Vol.  II,  p.  524.  "II  y  en  a  qui  ont  leur 
place  aupres  du  Theatre,  qu'ils  gardent  de  pere  en  fils  comrae  un  Mayo- 
razgo,  qui  ne  se  peut  vendre  ni  engager,  tant  ils  ont  de  passion  pour  cela.' 
{Relation  de  I'Estat  et  Gouvernement  d'Espagne  par  Frangois  Bertaut^ 
Cologne,  1666,  p.  59.) 

*At   the   end   of    Calderon's   El   galan   faniasma    (written    in    1635    or 
earlier),  Candil,  the  gracioso,  thus  addresses  the  mosqueteros: 

"Yo,  que  pase  tantos  sustos, 
No  quiero  de  nadie  nada, 


THE  DISORDERLY  STEW-PAN  119 

more  orderly  or  charitable.  Of  course  I  do  not  refer  here 
to  the  more  respectable  who  occupied  the  boxes  or  apo- 
sentos  and  who  generally  went  masked.^  But  the  motley 
crowd  that  surged  into  the  cazuela  (stewing-pan),  which 
men  were  not  allowed  to  enter,  was  no  less  disorderly 
than  the  "infantry"  of  the  patio,  so  that  an  alguacil,  or 
peace  officer,  was  always  stationed  in  this  gallery  to  keep 
them  within  bounds.  Here  no  woman  with  any  regard  for 
her  reputation  entered  unmasked.^  Like  the  mosqueteros, 
these  denizens  of  the  jaula,  or  cage,  as  it  was  also  called, 
pelted  the  actors  with  fruit,  orange-peels,  pepinos  (cucum- 
bers), or  anything  they  found  at  hand,  to  show  their  dis- 
approval, and  generally  came  provided  with  rattles, 
whistles,  or  keys,  which  they  used  unsparingly.^     Roque 

Sino  de  los  Mosqueteros 
£1  perdon  de  nuestras  faltas, 
Para  que  con  esto  fin 
Demos  al  galan  fantasma" 

*  Guillen  de  Castro,  Los  mal  Casados  de  Valencia,  Act  II.  Malone  notes 
that  respectable  women  also  wore  masks  in  the  English  theaters.  {His- 
torical Account  of  the  English  Stage,  p.  126.)  The  same  custom  prevailed 
in  France:  "Peut-etre  aussi  dans  les  loges  y  avait-il  quelques  femmes  hon- 
netes,  mais  trop  curieuses,  cachces  sous  le  masque.  On  salt,  en  effet,  que  les 
dames  ne  sortaient  jamais  sans  masque,  sauf  k  le  laisser  attach^  pr^s  de 
I'oreille,  si  elles  ne  le  voulalent  pas  porter,  comme  font  de  bonnes  dames 
de  Paris,  qui,  encore  qu'elles  ne  se  masquent  jamais  dans  la  rue,  craignant 
de  s'echauffer  ou  pour  quelque  autre  sujet,  ont  toujours  le  masque  pendant, 
comme  un  volet  pres  de  la  fenetre,  de  peur  que  I'on  n'ignore  leur  noblesse.'* 
(Rigal,  op.  cit.,  p.  213,  note,  quoting  Maison  des  jeux,  Vol.  I,  p.  457.) 

*  In  the  interlude  De  los  Pareceres  by  Benavente,  one  of  the  characters, 
Petronila,  speaks  of  a  lady  whom  she  had  seen  at  the  entrance  to  the  theater: 
"I  could  not  speak  to  her,"  she  says,  "but  watched  her" : 

"Que  tapada  se  entraba  en  la  cazuela." 

{Entremeses,  ed.  Rosell,  Vol.  II,  p.  312.) 

*  In  France  ladies  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  visited  the  Hotel  de  Bour- 
gogne  (the  only  regular  theater  in  Paris  for  nearly  thirty  years  from  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century)  until  Richelieu  began  to  take  an 
active  interest  in  the  theater,  about  1635.  Women  did  go  to  the  theater,  as 
Rigal  says,  "puisqu'il  arrive  a  Bruscambille  de  leur  adresser  la  parole; 
mais  il  ne  le  fait  guere  que  pour  leur  dire  des  obscenites.  C'etaient  done 
surtout  des  femmes  perdues."  He  says  further:  "Les  honnetes  femmes 
n'allaient  point  a  I'Hotel  de  Bourgogne  et  n'y  pouvaient  aller,  effrayees  par 
les  insolents  et  par  I'immoralite  des  spectacles;  mais  leur  abstention  meme 


120  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

de   Figueroa,   in  the  Loa  above   mentioned,    addresses 
them; 

Damas  que  en  aquesa  jaula 

Nos  dais  con  pitos  y  Haves 

Por  la  tarde  alboreada, 

A  serviros  he  venido, 

thus  showing  the  awe  in  which  even  the  most  famous  play- 
ers held  these  mugercillas.  Indeed,  Roque's  prayer,  beg- 
ging the  indulgence  of  his  unruly  auditors,  is  the  best 
evidence  of  the  character  of  this  vulgo,  before  whom  the 
works  of  the  greatest  dramatists  of  Spain  were  represented. 
But  despite  the  above  description  of  the  audience  in 
Spanish  theaters,^  let  us  not  imagine  for  one  moment  that 
these  men  and  women  were  worse  than  we  find  them  else- 
where in  Europe  at  the  public  theaters.  Indeed,  the 
weight  of  the  evidence  here  rather  favors  the  Spaniard,  as 
against  other  European  nations.  The  plays  that  he  saw 
were  cleaner  and  on  a  higher  moral  plane  than  those  which 
were  represented  before  his  contemporaries  elsewhere. 
And  this  in  spite  of  what  we  shall  read  hereafter  concern- 
ing the  immorality  of  the  Spanish  stage.  An  examination 
of  the  Elizabethan  theater,  or  of  the  farces  and  comedies 
in  France  and  Germany  at  this  time,  to  say  nothing  of  Italy, 

etait  un  mal  et  laissait  le  champ  libre  k  I'immoralite  comme  aux  inso- 
lences."    {Entremeses,  ed.  Rosell,  Vol.  II,  p.  214.) 

^  Suarez  de  Figueroa,  in  his  Passagero  (1617),  says  of  these  mosqueteros : 
"Dios  OS  libre  de  la  furia  mosqueteril,  entre  quien  si  no  agrada  lo  que  se 
representa,  no  hay  cosa  segura,  sea  divina  6  profana.  Pues  la  plebe  de 
negro  no  es  menos  peligrosa,  desde  sus  bancos  6  gradas,  ni  menos  bastecida 
de  instrumentos  para  el  estorbo  de  la  comedia,  y  su  regodeo.  Ay  de  aquella 
cuyo  aplauso  nace  de  carracas,  cencerros,  ginebras,  silbatos,  campanillas, 
capadores,  tablillas  de  San  Lazaro,  y  sobre  todo  de  voces  y  silvos  incesables. 
Todos  estos  generos  de  musica  infernal  resonaron  no  ha  mucho  en  cierta 
farsa,  llegando  la  desverguenza  a  pedir  que  saliesa  i  baylar  el  Poeta,  a 
quien  llamaban  por  su  nombre"  (fol.  104).  Besides  the  instruments  here 
mentioned  by  Suarez  de  Figueroa,  which  the  vulgo  brought  to  the  theater 
for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  noise  and  disturbance,  Gonzalez  de  Salas 
mentions  the  castradores:  "Sabida  cosa  es,  que  las  Flautas  Pasioricas  cons- 
taban  antiguamente  de  aquella  desigualdad  de  canas,  que  hoi  vemos  imi- 
tada    en    los    vulgares    instrumentos,    que    la    plebe    llama    grosseramente 


^ 


THE  MOSQUETEROS  121 

whose  theater  was  the  most  immoral  in  Europe,  will  soon 
convince  one  of  the  truth  of  this  statement.  The  Spaniard 
was  quick  and  vigorous  in  his  disapproval  of  a  play,  and 
he  made  his  dislike  unmistakable,  but  he  doubtless  com- 
pares very  favorably  with  his  contemporaries  in  other 
countries.^ 

As  already  observed,  the^success  or  failure  of  a  new 
comedia_generally  hung  upon  the  judgment  of  this  popii- 
lacho  in  the  pit.  If  they  applauded  and  shouted  Victor! 
I  it  was  a  good  augury,  and  the  popularity  of  the  play  was 
assured;  if  they  whistled  and  hissed,  the  comedia  was 
doomed.^  Bertaut  relates  the  story  of  an  author  who  went 
to  one  of  these  mosqueteros  and  offered  him  a  hundred 
reals  to  be  favorable  to  his  play,  which  was  about  to  be 
acted.  Eut  he  replied  haughtily  that  he  would  see  whether 
the  piece  was  good  or  not,  and  it  was  hissed.^  Some 
years  later,  in  1679,  Madame  d'Aulnoy  relates  that  the 
chief  arbiter  of  the  fate  of  a  comedia  in  Madrid  was 
a  shoemaker,  "who  had  acquired  such  absolute  authority 

Castradores.  De  estos  usa  hoi  tambien  el  vulgo  en  los  Teatros,  para  affli- 
gif,  como  con  los  Silvos,  la  no  bien  accepta  Representacion."  {Nueva  Idea 
de  la  Tragedia  Antigua,  Madrid,  1778,  Vol.  I,  p.  210.) 

^An  idea  of  the  character  of  the  rabble  at  the  Hotel  de  Bourgogne  is 
furnished  by  the  Fantaisies  de  Bruscambille,  first  printed  in  1612.  Brus- 
cambille,  irritated  by  the  impatience  of  the  mob,  which  is  clamoring  for  the 
performance  to  begin,  says:  "A-t-on  commence?  C'est  pis  qu'antan.  L'un 
tousse,  I'autre  crache,  I'autre  pete,  I'autre  rit,  I'autre  gratte  son  cul,"  etc. 
Quoted  by  Rigal,  op.  cit.,  p.  206,  who  remarks  concerning  the  audience: 
"Et  combien  il  etait  bruyant,  agite,  querelleur !  La  plus  grande  partie  se 
trouvait  au  parterre,  et  la,  debout  .  .  .  [elle]  constituait  pour  les  pieces  et  pour 
les  acteurs  le  moins  attentif  et  le  plus  irritable  des  juges."  {Ibid.,  p.  204.) 
"lis  ne  cessent  de  parler,  de  sifBer  et  de  crier,"  etc.  {ibid.,  p.  208),  and 
the  players  run  the  risk  "d'etre  assomme  a  coups  de  pommes  cuites." 
{Ibid.)  Of  the  audiences  at  the  Hotel  de  Bourgogne  during  the  first  twenty 
or  thirty  years  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Rigal  says  they  were  "en  majo- 
rite  turbulent,  grossier  et  immoral."     {Ibid.,  p.  215.) 

*  James  Mabbe,  who  was  in  Madrid  in  1611-13,  speaks  of  the  "plaudits 
of  the  auditors  in  the  theaters,  crying,  'Vitor,  Vitor,  .  .  .  Pinedo  or  Fer- 
nandez,' while  in  the  intervals  he  watched  the  Spaniards  entertain  the 
•women  they  brought  thither  with  good  wines  cooled  with  snow  and 
sweetmeats."  {Celestina,  tr.  by  Mabbe,  ed.  H.  Warner  Allen,  1909, 
p.  Ixxviii.) 

^Relation  de  I'Estat  et  Gowvernement  d'Espagne,  Cologne,  1666,  p.  60. 


122  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

in  these  matters,  that  authors  were  in  the  habit  of  going 
to  him  when  they  had  finished  a  play,  in  order  to  procure 
his  approval;  they  read  their  pieces  to  him,  and  the  shoe- 
maker, assuming  a  grave  air,  says  a  hundred  impertinences, 
which  they  must  endure.  Finally,  at  the  first  representa- 
tion, all  eyes  intently  watch  every  move  and  gesture  of  this 
low  fellow.  The  younger  men,  whatever  be  their  quality, 
imitate  him;  if  he  yawns,  they  yawn;  if  he  laughs,  they 
laugh.  Finally  he  gets  impatient,  draws  forth  a  little 
whistle,  places  it  to  his  lips,  and  immediately  the  whole 
house  resounds  with  whistlings.  The  poor  author  is  in 
despair,  and  all  his  pains  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  good  or 
ill  humor  of  this  scoundrel."^ 

Quick  and  unruly  as  the  audiences  were  in  showing  their 
dislike  of  a  play,  they  were  equally  noisy  and  demonstrative 
in  manifesting  their  approval,  which  they  did  by  crying 
Victorl  Not  infrequently  dramatic  authors — mostly 
second-rate  ones — condescended,  at  the  end  of  their  plays, 
to  ask  the  audience  for  a  victor.  Lope  de  Vega  never 
stooped  so  low  as  this;  at  all  events,  I  have  not  found  a 
single  instance  in  his  comedias.  His  disciple,  Montalvan, 
however,  often  sinned  in  this  regard,  as  did  also  Moreto, 
and  especially  Francisco  de  Rojas.  It  was  the  custom  of 
all  playwrights — inaugurated,  I  believe,  by  Lope  de  Vega 
— at  the  conclusion  of  a  comedia,  to  ask  the  auditors,  who 
were  generally  addressed  as  "El  ilustre  Senado,"  to  pardon 
the  faults  of  the  play.  But  these  later  dramatists  often 
exercised  considerable  ingenuity  in  introducing  the  prayer 
for  a  victor.  At  the  conclusion  of  Montalvan's  Cumplir 
con  su  Obligacion,  Mendoza  says : 

To  me  then  it  falls  to  say  it : 
Fulfil  ye  your  obligation, 
And  you  all  will  have  fulfilled  it, 
If,  as  courteous  as  you  are, 
You  a  victor  in  the  bargain 
^Relation  du  Voyage  tfEspagne,  La  Haye,  1693,  Part  III,  p.  21. 


PLAUDUNT  HISTRIONI  123 

Give,  even  if  not  for  the  Poet, 
For  the  wish  he  has  to  serve  you.^ 

And  Moreto  ends  his  celebrated  comedia  El  Desden  con  el 
Desden  with  the  words : 

And  with  this  and  with  a  victor. 
Which  most  courteously  and  humbly 
The  Wit  begs,  here  the  comedia 
Scorn  repaid  with  Scorn  concludeth.'' 

Rojas,  in  his  El  mas  impropio  Verdugo  por  la  mas  justa 
Venganza,  even  carries  his  obligation  for  a  victor  beyond 
the  grave : 

If  you  should  at  tip  of  tongue 

Or  at  hand  applause  have  ready 

Or  victor  or  other  money, 

*Mendoza:    "A  mi  me  toca  el  decirlo: 

Cumplir  con  su  Obligacion, 
Y  todos  la  havreis  cumplido, 
Si  como  tan  Cortesanos 
Nos  dais  de  barato  un  vitor, 
Ya  que  no, por  el  Poeta, 
Por  el  gusto  de  serviros." 
So  in  La  mas  constante  Muger: 

"Decid  victor  al  deseo 
De  quien  vuestro  esclavo  es." 

^  "Y  con  esto,  y  con  un  vitor 
que  pide  humilde,  y  cortes 
el  Ingenio,  aqui  se  acaba 
El  Desden  con  el  Desden." 

In  his  comedia  Fingir  y  A  mar  he  asks  for  a  vitor  "if  there  be  any  at  hand"; 

"Un  vitor  si  le  hay  a  mano." 
And  in  La  Confusion  de  un  Jar  din  he  asks  for  it  as  a  charity: 

"Dadle  un  vitor  de  limosna." 
In  his  El  Parecido  en  la  Carte  the  actors  call  for  a  victor  for  him: 
"Tacon:  Y  con  esto  y  con  un  vitor 
Todos:   Para  Moreto  aqui  tiene 
fin  dichoso  el  Parecido." 

At  the  close  of  the  comedia  Lo  que  son  Mugeres,  Rojas  asks  for  a  victor 
because  the  play  contains  neither  a  death  nor  a  marriage : 
"Y  don  Francisco  de  Rojas 
Un  vitor  solo  pretende 


124  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

In  this  life  and  in  the  other 
The  poet  will  pay  you  for  it.^ 

Many  more  examples  might  be  cited,  but  we  will  conclude 
with  this  one  by  Solis,  who,  in  his  El  Doctor  Carlino, 
stoops  to  the  groundlings,  asking  for  a  victor  to  bury  his 
comedia : 

Here  expireth  the  Comedia; 

If  aught  of  success  it  merit, 

Give,  to  bury  it,  a  victor. 

You,  senores  mosqueteros.* 

We  have  seen  the  efforts  that  were  made  by  the  players 
to  conciliate  their  audiences;  these  examples  show  quite 
conclusively  that  the  playwrights  feared  them  no  less. 

There  were,  quite  naturally,  in  Spain,  in  these  early 
days,  not  a  few  persons  (and  they  have  not  decreased  in 
our  own  time)  who  thought  they  were  entitled  to  enter 
the  theater  without  paying.  As  Ticknor  says,  it  was 
deemed  a  distinction  to  have  free  access  to  the  theater,  and 
persons  who  cared  little  about  the  price  of  a  ticket  strug- 
gled hard  to  obtain  it.^  But  it  is  safe  to  say  that  to  the 
vast  majority  of  those  who  tried  to  enter  without  paying, 
the  gate-money  was  a  matter  of  capital  Importance. 
These  persons  seem  to  have  existed  nowhere  in  such  large 

Porque  escribio  esta  comedia 
Sin  casamiento  y  sin  muerte." 

Sin  Honra  no  hay  Amistad  concludes  with: 

"Dad  un  vitor  de  piedad 
Al  que  escribi6  la  comedia." 

^"Si  hubiere  quien  tenga  a  lengua, 
Como  a  mano  algun  aplauso, 
Un  vitor  u  otra  moneda, 
En  esta  y  en  otra  vida 
Se  lo  pagari  el  poeta." 

•"Y  aqui  espiro  la  Comedia; 
Si  tuviere  algun  acierto, 
Den  para  enterrarla  un  vitor 
Los  senores  mosqueteros." 

•  History  of  Spanish  Literature,  Vol.  II,  p.  525. 


DEADHEADS  125 

numbers  as  in  Seville,  where  the  populacho  easily  bore  off 
the  palm  for  ruffianism,^  a  distinction  which,  I  am  told, 
that  city  has  maintained  to  the  present  day.  As  a  conse- 
quence, brawls  and  stabbing  affrays  at  the  doors  of  the 
theaters  were  of  frequent  occurrence. 

In  161 5  Pedro  Martinez  de  Asensio,  to  whom  the  city 
of  Seville  had  farmed  out  for  4000  reals  annually  the 
charge  of  8  maravedis  which  inured  to  the  city  from  each 
person  entering  the  corrales,  complained  of  the  many  per- 
sons who  entered  the  Doha  Elvira  without  paying,  and 
requested  that  those  who  enter  by  force  be  seized  and 
taken  to  the  prison  of  the  Real  Audiencia.^  In  1628  Luis 
Candado,  a  well-known  actor,  was  taking  the  money  at  the 
door  of  La  Monteria  when  one  Juan  de  Heredia  at- 
tempted to  enter  without  paying.  It  was  charged  that 
Heredia  took  Candado's  sword  from  him  and  threatened 
him  with  it,  though  no  harm  was  done,  as  others  inter- 
fered. Heredia  tried  to  exculpate  himself  by  declaring 
that  Candado  had  stooped  to  collect  some  coppers  which 
he  had  let  fall,  whereupon  his  (Candado's)  sword  was 
pushed  out  from  his  belt,  which  sword  Heredia  grasped, 
so  that  the  owner  of  it  might  not  injure  himself.  Heredia 
was  fined  12  reals,  "as  an  alms  for  some  pious  work,  and 
notified  that  henceforth  he  should  pay  at  the  door  of  the 
theater."^  The  spectacle  of  a  hidalgo  with  a  sword,  gath- 
ering coppers,  is  certainly  ludicrous. 

By  1632  the  number  of  persons  who  entered  the  Coliseo 
without  paying  was  so  great  that  not  enough  money  was 
taken  at  the  door  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  company.^ 

*  Their  reputation  for  never  paying  the  entrancfe  money  when  they  could 
possibly  avoid  it  had  reached  every  quarter  of  Spain.  In  the  Loa  to  Turia's 
La  Fe  pagada,  printed  in  Valencia  in  1616,  we  read: 

"Quien  paga,  y  quien  por  honrado 
a  lo  de  Sevilla  se  entra." 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  164. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  260. 

*Ibid.,  p.  281.     In  a  Bayle  de  Xdcara  published  about  forty  years  after 


126  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

In  the  following  year,  on  January  5,  a  bloody  affray  took 
place  at  the  door  of  La  Monteria,  when  five  or  six  young 
men  in  the  dress  of  students  forced  their  way  through  the 
first  door  and  were  met  at  the  second  by  the  alguacil  with 
his  "rod  of  justice,"  who  declared  that  "on  former  occa- 
sions he  had  entreated  them  to  pay  on  the  day  of  a  new 
comedia,  since  they  did  not  pay  on  the  other  days."  The 
ruffians  withdrew,  and  arming  themselves  with  swords,  re- 
turned and  attacked  the  alguacil,  wounding  him.^ 

In  Madrid  these  brawls  and  stabbings  at  the  theater 
doors  seem  to  have  been  less  frequent,  though  this  may  be 
due  to  the  lack  of  exact  information.  That  "deadheads" 
were  equally  plentiful,  however,  we  may  be  quite  sure. 
They  stood  around  the  doors  of  the  theaters  in  the  rain, 
drenched  through,  waiting  for  a  chance  to  slip  in  without 
paying.2 

Of  the  turbulent  character  of  these  audiences  and  of 

this,  we  read  that  "only  the  mosqueteros,  those  who  whistled  down  the  co- 
medias,  paid  their  money" : 

"En  la  comedia  solo  los  mosqueteros 
los  que  siluan  lo  pagan  con  su  dinero." 

{Migajas  del  Ingenio,  Zaragoza  (no  date),  p.  30.) 

And  those  who  entered  the  theater  gratis  were  the  first  to  whistle : 

"Acabemos  el  bayle 
no  nos  le  paguen 
con  algun  silvo  fiero, 
que  entre  de  balde." 
{Bayle  de  la  Entrada  de  la  Comedia,  by  Pedro  Francisco  Lanini, 

ibid.,  p.  18.) 

^  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  283.  See  also  pp.  306  and  323.  The  latter 
case  happened  on  June  4,  1638.  Besides  the  public  representations  of  the 
autos  which  were  given,  they  were  also  performed  this  year  in  La  Monte- 
ria. A  waterman  of  Triana,  when  requested  by  the  doorkeeper  to  pay, 
said  that  he  never  paid,  and  drawing  a  sword,  wounded  the  alguacil  who 
was  standing  at  the  door.  On  the  following  day  a  similar  affray  took 
place  at  the  same  theater,  when  the  aggressor,  "who  was  certainly  a 
Creole,"  in  the  words  of  the  doorkeeper,  "was  one  of  those  who  did  not 
pay,  nor  was  he  accustomed  to  do  so."     {Ibid.,  p.  324.) 

'In  the  Jdcara  sung  by  the  company  of  Ortegon  in  Madrid,  in  1635, 
Leonor  sings: 

"En  el  corral  de  comedias 
Lloviendo  a  la  puerta  est^n 


NUGAE  CANORAE  127 

their  ruffianly  behavior  within  the  theater  there  is  other 
and  ample  testimony.  On  the  afternoon  of  November  10, 
1639,  ^^  th^  theater  La  Monteria  in  Seville,  a  comedia  was 
performed,  and  after  the  bayle  or  dance  at  the  end  of  the 
first  act  had  been  executed  by  Jacinta  Herbias,  one  Don 
Pedro  de  Montalbo,  a  spectator  who  was  studying  for  the 
priesthood  {clerigo  y  estudiante),  cried  out;  "Bravo, 
Jacinta !"  to  which  Antonia  Infante  (who  was  playing  the 
first  part  to  Jacinta's  second)  called  from  the  stage: 
^'Bravo  indeed,  and  welcome,  for  she  deserves  it."  And 
as  some  of  those  who  were  shouting  exclaimed,  "Bravo, 
Jacinta,  and  down  with  Antonia !"  one  Don  Lope  de 
Eslava  arose  and  cried  out,  "Bravo,  Antonia,  and  down 
with  Jacinta  1  and  whoever  says  otherwise  lies,  like  a 
cuckold."  Whereupon  Don  Pedro  shouted,  "You  lie!" 
On  hearing  which,  Don  Lope,  blind  with  rage,  drew  his 
sword,  and  rushing  upon  Don  Pedro,  mortally  wounded 
him.  "Yet  those  were  not  wanting  who  asserted  that  an 
old  feud  had  existed  between  Don  Pedro  and  Don  Lope, 
because  the  former  had  accused  Dofia  Ana  de  Espinosa 
[also  an  actress  and  wife  of  the  actor  Juan  Roman]  of 
living  with  Don  Lope."  ^ 

Another  instance  occurred  in  1641.  The  students  of 
the  college  of  Maese  Rodrigo  had  been  celebrating  the 
festival  of  the  "Boy  Bishop"  (Obispillo),^  and  after  creat- 
ing a  great  tumult  and  scandal  at  the  college  gate,  they 
sallied  forth  upon  the  streets  with  "prohibited  weapons," 
knocking  down  everybody  they  met  on  their  way.  In  the 
afternoon  they  went  to  the  Corral  de  la  Monteria,  and 

Mohadas  y  mas  mohada$, 
Por  colarse  sin  pagar." 
{Entremeses  de  Benavente,  ed.  Rosell,  Vol.  I,  p.  445.) 

^  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  304. 

*"La  farsa  llamada  del  Obispillo"  is  as  old  as  the  fourteenth  century. 
{Espana  sagrada,  Tomo  45,  trat.  88,  cap.  ii,  p.  18,  ed.  of  Madrid,  1832. 
Wolf,  Studien,  p.  579.)  See  also,  for  the  festival  of  the  "Boy  Bishop," 
Chambers,  The  Medieval  Stage,  Vol.  I,  pp.  336-371. 


128  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

entering  the  aposentos,  they  caused  the  performance,  which 
had  already  commenced,  to  be  begun  again.  Not  content 
with  this,  they  started  a  fight  on  coming  out,  in  which 
several  persons  were  wounded.^  Again,  on  Sunday, 
January  25,  1643,  ^^e  comedia  San  Cristobal  was  an- 
nounced by  posters  to  be  played  in  the  Corral  de  la 
Monteria,  but  the  Inquisition  had  forbidden  its  perform- 
ance until  certain  passages  were  expunged.  The  autor 
(director)  came  on  the  stage  and  announced  this  fact  and 
offered  to  substitute  another  comedia.  "The  low  and 
common  people  {la  gente  baja  y  popular)  y  who  had  come 
because  it  was  a  feast-day  and  they  were  not  working,  and 
having  congregated  in  great  numbers  because  there  were 
apariencias—a.  matter  which  the  common  people  and  the 
women  enjoy  more  than  the  artistry,  verses,  and  plot  of  the 
comedia — became  turbulent  and  unruly  because  they 
wanted  no  other  comedia  than  San  Cristobal,  which  they 
shouted  amidst  great  tumult,  and  as  this  could  not  be 
represented  without  incurring  the  penalty  of  excommunica- 
tion, they  began  to  break  benches  and  chairs,  shattering 
them  and  destroying  the  curtains  (celosias)  of  the  apo- 
sentos and  the  whole  theater,  as  well  as  the  costumes  of  the 
players  which  they  found  in  the  green-room  {vestua- 
rio)y^  The  company  acting  in  La  Monteria  at  this 
time  was  probably  that  of  Manuel  Alvarez  Vallejo.  -And 
in  1645,  while  the  company  of  Luis  Lopez  was  repre- 
senting in  La  Monteria,  "there  was  another  one  of  those 
scandals  which  were  so  frequent  there.  It  appears  that 
from  the  cazuela,  where  the  women  sit,  somebody  threw 
some  lemon-peels  {cdscaras  de  limon) ,  which,  falling  upon 
the  head  of  a  man  standing  in  the  patio,  he  shouted:  'The 

devil  take  the .    Why  don't  you  look  where  you  are 

throwing?'  Whereupon  a  man  who  was  close  by  replied: 
'Why  don't  the  cuckold  look  to  what  he  says?'  and  at  the 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  349. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  365. 


MEN  IN  THE  CAZUELA  129 

same  time  dealt  him  a  blow.  At  this  the  other  drew  a 
pistol,  the  discharge  of  which  caused  a  great  scandal."^ 

We  have  seen  that  from  their  very  beginning  the  Span- 
ish theaters  had  set  aside  a  place  exclusively  for  women. 
This  gallery,  called  the  cazuela  (stewpan),  jaula  de  las 
mugeres,  or  corredor  de  las  mugeres,  had  a  separate  en- 
trance and  was  provided  with  a  doorkeeper,  so  that  it 
might  be  wholly  apart  from  the  portion  occupied  by  the 
men. 2 

Despite  this  arrangement  of  the  theaters  and  the  fact 
that  an  alguacil  was  always  stationed  at  the  women's  en- 
trance, the  attempt  to  separate  the  men  from  the  women 
was  not  always  successful.  In  1627  complaint  was  made 
in  Seville  "that  the  women  occupied  seats  in  the  first  and 
second  rows  of  the  sillas  and  bancos  among  the  men,  and 
likewise  in  other  parts  of  the  theater,  from  which  great 
scandal  results,"  etc.^  And  in  1651,  in  view  of  the  con- 
tinued disturbances  in  La  Monteria,  occasioned  by  permit- 
ting men  and  boys  to  enter  the  cazuela  of  the  women, 
"against  the  expressed  mandate,"  the  lessee,  one  Juan 
de  Bartanes,  was  notified  to  place  at  the  entrance  door, 

*  Ibid.,  p.  374. 

'  The  same  precautions  for  separating  men  from  women  in  the  public 
theaters  were  observed  in  the  Spanish  colonies  in  South  America.  On 
April  17,  1630,  an  edict  of  the  Viceroy  of  Peru,  the  Count  of  Chinchon, 
provided  that  men  should  not  enter  the  aposentos  of  the  women  in  the 
Corral  de  las  Comedias  of  Lima;  commanding  that  the  said  aposentos  be 
separate,  and  that  two  entrances  be  constructed,  one  for  men  and  the  other 
for  women,  and  imposing  a  penalty  on  all  men  who  should  be  found  in  the 
galleries  and  aposentos  reserved  for  women.  It  also  provided  that  all  rep- 
resentations cease  before  the  bell  for  evening  prayers  (oracion),  under  the 
penalties  provided  therefor.  At  this  time  Antonio  de  Santoyo  and  his  com- 
pany, Los  Conformes,  were  playing  at  the  theater  in  Lima.  (Perez  Pastor, 
Nuevos  Datos,  p.  219.)  Even  in  the  churches  of  Madrid  separate  entrances 
and  exits  were  prescribed  for  men  and  women.  James  Mabbe  (1611-13) 
"was  duly  shocked  at  the  young  men,  who  gathered  about  the  church  door 
to  watch  the  women  coming  from  their  devotions,  *an  ill  custome,  that  is 
too  much  used  in  many  great  Cities,  .  .  .  especially  in  Madrid,  where  to 
prevent  this  Church-courting,  the  men  are  to  goe  in  and  out  at  one  doore, 
and  the  women  at  another.'"  {Celestina,  translated  by  James  Mabbe, 
edited  by  E.  Warner  Allen,  London,  1909,  p.  Ixxviii.) 

'  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  255. 


130  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

"where  the  said  women  enter,  new  doorkeepers  (cobra- 
dores)  and  satisfactory  ones,  so  that  in  no  circumstances 
men  or  boys  be  allowed  to  enter,  under  a  penalty  of  50 
ducats,  .  .  .  and  that  the  person  in  charge  of  the  keys  of 
the  said  cazuelas  be  notified  not  to  permit  any  man  or  boy 
to  enter,  and  he  shall  lock  the  door  as  soon  as  the  comedia 
begins  and  not  open  it  again  until  it  be  concluded,  nor 
permit  any  one  to  be  on  the  staircases,"  ^  etc.  All  of  which 
did  not  keep  Bernardo  de  Soto  out  of  the  "stewpan,"  for 
we  read  that  on  April  7,  1654,  he,  the  said  Bernardo, 
"ascended  to  the  cazuela  of  the  women  in  La  Monieria, 
and  getting  under  the  seats,  he  began  to  raise  the  petti- 
coats and  touch  the  legs  of  those  who  were  looking  at  the 
play,  by  which  great  scandal  was  occasioned;  and  the 
culprit  was  seized  and  sentenced  to  be  banished  from  the 
city  and  ten  leagues  therefrom,  for  the  term  of  two  years, 
any  infringement  of  this  sentence  to  be  expiated  in  one  of 
the  fortresses  of  Africa."  ^ 

While  more  or  less  force  was  scmetimes  used  to  enter 
the  theaters  without  paying,  peace,  here  as  elsewhere,  also 
had  its  victories,  and  other  means  were  resorted  to  for 
viewing  the  comedia  without  the  aid  of  reals  and  mara- 
vedis.  As  the  Spanish  theaters  were  open  to  the  sky,  peo- 
ple sometimes  gathered  on  the  surrounding  housetops  and 
looked  at  the  performance.  Complaint  was  made  in  this 
regard,  in  161 2,  concerning  the  Coliseo  in  Seville,  "which 
being  uncovered,  the  neighbors  ascended  the  roofs  to  view 
the  representations,  occasioning  considerable  loss  and 
noise.   ^ 

Theatrical  performances  in  Spain,  as  we  have  said 
above,  were  at  first  limited  to  Sundays  and  feast-days,  but 
with  the  growing  demand  for  these  spectacles  representa- 
tions were  authorized  during  the  week,  on  Tuesdays  and 
Thursdays,  and  sometimes  they  continued  for  fifteen  or 

'  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  395. 
^Ihid.,  p.  408.  "^  Ihid.,  p.  152. 


GANASSA  131 

twenty  day^  before  Shrovetide.  On  Ash  Wednesday  the 
theaters  were  closed  till  Easter.  But  gradually  the  time 
during  which  representations  might  be  given  was  extended, 
though  all  theaters  were  closed  during  Lent.  It  seems, 
however,  that  even  in  very  early  times  performances  were 
given  on  other  than  the  prescribed  days,  for  the  Italian 
Ganassa,  who  visited  Seville  with  his  company  in  1575, 
"having  given,  in  the  month  of  June,  some  performances 
in  the  ancient  Corral  de  Don  Juan,  so  great  was  the  num- 
ber of  spectators,  especially  of  the  common  people,  that 
the  city  was  petitioned  to  refuse  a  permit  for  these  repre- 
sentations on  account  of  the  prejudice  that  resulted  from 
the  fact  that  workingmen,  in  their  eagerness  to  run  after 
this  novelty,  abandoned  their  employments;  besides,  the 
great  scarcity  which  prevailed  in  Seville  did  not  admit  of 
such  extraordinary  expenditures."  ^  We  learn  that  in  1580 
Ganassa  obtained  a  license  to  perform  two  days  in  the 
week,  in  addition  to  the  feast-days,  while  Pedro  de  Saldaiia 
and  Jeronimo  Velazquez  were  permitted  to  represent  only 
on  feast-days. 2  But  that  theatrical  performances  were  not 
long  confined  to  these  days  we  now  have  abundant 
means  of  proving,^  and  in  1595  we  find  that  the  com- 
panies of  Alonso  de  Cisneros  and  Gaspar  de  Porres  were 
to  represent  in  Madrid  from  Lunes  de  Quasimodo  (the 
day  following  the  first  Sunday  after  Easter)  till  Corpus 
Christi,^  while  in  1605  Baltasar  Pinedo  agreed  to  give 
sixty  performances  in  four  months.^  In  1639  Antonio  de 
Rueda  agreed  to  give  ninety  performances  on  successive 
days,  except  Saturdays,  unless  they  be  feast-days,  in  the 
Corral  de  la  Monteria  at  Seville,^  but  doubtless  daily 
representations  (except  on  Saturday)  had  been  given  in 
the  theaters  long  before  this  time. 

In  general,  no  public  representations  took  place  on  Sat- 

^  Ibid.,  p.  49.  '  Ibid.,  p.  51.  '  See  Appendix  A. 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  40. 
■  Ibid.,  p.  89.  •  Ibid.,  p.  317. 


132  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

urday,  but  as  early  as  1593  there  Is  recorded  an  agreement 
by  Gabriel  Nunezf  autor  de  comedias,  to  go  to  Nava  del 
Carnero  by  Sunday,  August  i,  "with  the  persons  and  bag- 
gage (hato)  that  may  be  necessary  to  represent,  on  the 
eve  of  the  said  Sunday,  a  comedia  entitled  Los  Coxnenda- 
dores  [by  Lope  de  Vega],  with  its  music  and  entremeses, 
and  on  the  said  Sunday  another  comedia  a  lo  divino  in  the 
morning  and  one  a  lo  humano  in  the  afternoon,  the  latter 
to  be  Los  Enredos  de  Benetillo  [perhaps  Los  Enredos  de 
Benito  of  Lope],  or  any  other  that  may  be  demanded,  with 
its  music  de  biola  y  guitarras."  ^ 

Representations  were,  of  course,  always  given  on  Sun- 
day. This  day  was  much  favored  by  both  actors  and 
autores,  on  account  of  the  great  crowd  it  drew,  for  which 
reason  the  comedias  were  always  performed  with  greater 
savor.2 

Besides  the  performances  in  the  theaters  of  Madrid,  the 
town  council  or  ayuntamiento  authorized  public  repre- 
sentations {comedias  publicas)  from  time  to  time  in  the 
squares  of  the  city,  for  which  no  fee  was  charged.  In 
1580  the  Council  of  Madrid  agreed  to  pay  300  ducats  to 
each  of  the  autores  who  were  to  represent  comedias  in  the 
Plaza  de  San  Salvador  in  honor  of  the  safe  delivery  {alum- 
bramiento)  of  the  Queen,^  and  in  1620,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  beatification  of  San  Isidro,  the  patron  saint  of 
Madrid,  the  town  council  resolved  to  have  comedias  repre- 
sented on  the  streets,  ordered  five  stages  to  be  erected  for 
that  purpose,  and  engaged  five  companies  to  give  the  per- 

^  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  pp.  36,  37. 

*  Roj  as  says : 

"Nosotros  desseamos  los  dotnlngos, 
Porque  en  domingo  viene  mucha  gente, 
Y  siempre  las  comedias  en  domingo 
Representamos  todos  con  mas  gusto." 

(Fiage  entretenido,  Madrid,  1603,  p.  575.) 

In  England  plays  on  Sunday  were  forbidden  by  James  I.  in  May,  1603. 
(Collier,  Shakespeare,  Vol.  I,  p.  167.) 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  12. 


THEATRICAL  POSTERS  133 

formances.*  In  Seville,  in  1630,  on  the  eve  of  the  festi- 
val of  the  Conception  of  our  Lady,  public  comedias  and 
bayles  were  given  by  the  companies  of  Jose  de  Salazar 
and  Pedro  de  Ortegon,^  and  in  1631  the  company  of 
Damian  Arias  gave  a  public  comedia  in  Seville,  "paid  for 
by  the  city,"  at  the  festival  of  Shrovetide.  Each  of  these 
companies  received  850  reals,  which  was  the  customary 
amount  paid  for  a  public  comedia.^ 

The  theaters  were  usually  opened  in  September,  and,  In 
the  absence  of  contagious  diseases,  continued  (excepting 
the  period  of  Lent)  until  about  the  middle  of  June.  For 
example,  on  June  20,  1632,  the  Corral  de  la  Monteria  was 
closed  on  account  of  the  heat  (por  el  calor),'^  and  in  1637 
all  representations  in  the  corrales  of  Seville  were  for- 
bidden, as  the  pest  was  then  prevalent.^ 

The  custom  of  issuing  posters  to  announce  the  perform- 
ance of  a  comedia  was  in  early  use  in  Spain,  as  we  have 
seen.  The  distinction  of  first  introducing  them  is  generally 
awarded  to  Cosme  de  Oviedo  of  Granada,  a  well-known 
autor  de  comedias,^  of  whom  we  read  as  early  as  1561, 
when  he  received  seventy  ducats  for  two  cars  which  he 
brought  out  at  the  Corpus  festival  at  Seville.  A  poster 
announcing  a  representation  by  the  companies  of  Vallejo 
and  Acacio  on  June  5,  161 9,  Is  still  preserved  in  the 
Archivo  del  Ayuntamiento  of  Seville : 

l^allefo  t  ^ca^io 

RPSS.^*"*  01  MIERCOLES  SUS  FAMOSAS  FIESTAS 
EN  DONA  EL  VIRA  A  LAS  DOS. 

*Acuerdo  de  la  Villa  de  Madrid  de  6  Mayo  1620.  "Acord6se  que  para 
las  fiestas  de  S.  Isidro  haya  comedias  por  las  calles  un  dia  de  la  octava  y 
que  se  hagan  cinco  tablados  *para  que  representen  cinco  autores  y  se  trai- 
gan  de  fuera  los  que  faltaren'  y  que  despues  sirvan  dichos  tablados  para 
las  danzas."  (Perez  Pastor,  Bull.  Hispanique  (1907),  p.  384;  Rennert, 
Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  p.  277.) 

'  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  269. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  271.  *Ibid.,  p.  281.  'Ibid.,  p.  306. 

•"Cosme  de  Oviedo,  aquel  autor  de  Granada  tan  conocido,  que  fue  el 


134  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

It  is  about  half  a  yard  long  and  a  foot  wide,  the  upper  line 
in  Gothic  characters,  and  done  by  hand,  as  most  or  all 
posters  were,  down  to  a  much  later  time.  This  poster  was 
put  up  at  the  corner  of  the  Borceguineria,  where  such  an- 
nouncements were  generally  fixed,  and  a  similar  one  at  the 
Doha  Elvira.^ 

Plays  seem,  however,  to  have  been  announced  by  public 
cry  even  as  late  as  1638,  in  which  year  liiigo  de  Loaysa, 
a  well-known  actor,  was  murdered  in  the  streets  of  Valencia 
while  announcing  the  play  for  the  following  day.^  And  in 
1639  ^^  ^^^  Agustin  Romero,  of  the  company  of  Fran- 
cisco Velez  de  Guevara,  combining  with  his  duties  as 
prompter  those  of  posting  placards,  being  engaged  *'para 
apuntar  y  hacer  carteles."^ 

The  most  exclusive  and  costly  seats  in  the  Spanish  thea- 

primero  que  puso  carteles."  (Rojas,  Viage  entretenido,  ed.  1603,  p.  132; 
Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  26.) 

^  Ibid.,  p.  200.  Sr.  Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  2034,  speaking  of  the  MS. 
comedia  Los  Mdrtires  del  Japon,  a  copy  made  in  Lisbon  in  1637,  says: 
"Contiene  dos  fragmentos  de  los  carteles  que  antiguamente  Servian  para 
anunciar  las  representaciones  teatrales,  analogos  al  que  se  conserva  en  el 
Archive  municipal  de  Sevilla."  This  reference  is  evidently  to  the  poster 
just  mentioned  above.  It  is  a  great  disappointment  to  learn  that  the  two 
fragmentos  mentioned  by  Sr.  Paz,  which  are  bound  in  with  the  play,  are 
parts  of  two  sheets  of  rough  paper,  upon  one  of  which  is  written  io  red  ink : 

Jamas  bista  de  .  .  . 
REpTA  Paz 

while  the  other  merely  contains  the  word :  Prim  .  .  . 

'"Inigo  de  Loaysa,  de  quien  se  dice  que  habiendo  salido  en  Valencia  i 
ofrecer  anuncio  para  el  dia  siguiente,  .  .  .  le  dieron  un  tajo  en  la  garganta, 
de  que  murio  degoilado."  (Sanchez-Arjona,  p.  323.)  There  may  be  some 
confusion  here  with  the  actor  Inigo  de  Velasco,  who  was  murdered  in 
Valencia,  December  i,  1643.  (Comedias  de  Calderon,  ed.  Hartzenbusch, 
Vol.  IV,  p.  718.) 

'  Nuevos  Dates,  p.  308.  These  play-bills  or  placards  merely  announced 
the  names  of  the  plays  and  the  companies  by  which  they  were  to  be  per- 
formed, and  apparently  did  not  contain  a  list  of  the  characters,  or  the 
names  of  the  actors  by  whom  they  were  represented.  The  same  custom 
obtained  in  England.  While  Spanish  placards  or  posters,  however,  were 
done  by  hand,  the  "billes  for  players"  in  London  were  printed  at  least  as 
early  as  1587.  "They  were  set  up  upon  posts  some  certainedays  before, 
to  admonish  the  people  to  make  resort  to  their  theaters,  that  they  may 
thereby  be  the  better  furnished,  and  the  people  prepared  to  fill  their  purses 


BOXES  AT  THE  THEATER  135 

ters  were  the  aposentos^  (stalls  or  boxes),  which  were 
occupied  by  the  nobility  and  the  rich.  They  were  fre- 
quently rented  by  the  year,  the  price  varying  from  100  to 
150  ducats  (a  ducat  =11  reals)  annually.  Every  one 
who  made  any  pretension  to  being  "upper-crust,"  we  may 
be  sure,  had  his  aposento,  just  as  nowadays  such  persons 
have  their  box  at  the  opera.  Among  the  distinguished 
personages  occupying  these  favored  places  in  Madrid  in 
1639  was  the  Florentine  ambassador,  who  paid  100 
ducats  each  for  a  yearly  aposento  in  the  Corral  del  Prin- 
cipe and  the  Cruz.^ 

The  "ayuntamiento"  or  town  council  of  the  cities  also 
generally  possessed  an  aposento  at  the  theater.  In  Madrid 
the  "ayuntamiento"  had  one  in  each  of  the  two  theaters, 
for  which  300  ducats  were  paid  yearly.^  Doubtless  in 
most  cities  this  was  an  "aposento  grande  con  mayor 
adorno  y  autoridad  que  los  demas  aposentos  que  hay  en 
la  casa,"  as  was  the  case  in  Valladolid  in  1614.^  Here 
those  august  dignitaries,  the  "Regidores,"  sat,  who  in 
those  not  over-scrupulous  days  guarded  the  destinies  of 
the  stage. 

This  privilege  of  the  "Regidores"  seems  to  have  been 
abused  by  their  sons,  for  on  August  20,  16 14,  the  town 
council  of  Madrid  forbade  the  doorkeepers  to  allow  any- 
body to  enter  the  aposentos  of  these  dignitaries  In  order  to 
avoid  the  disorder  caused  by  the  fact  that  their  sons 
used  to  visit  these  boxes  and  bring  their  friends,  and 
because  other  persons  also  occupied  them  who  had  no 
right  to  do  so."^ 

A  curious  fact  noted  by  Pelllcer  is  that  "some  gentlemen 
were  In  the  habit  of  owing  for  their  seats  at  the  theater," 

with  their  treasures."     (See  Malone,  Historical  Account  of  the  English 
Stage,  p.  169.) 

*  The  word  is  still  used  at  the  present  day. 
'  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  314. 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  pp.  122,  144. 
*Ibid,,  p.  155.  'Ibid.,  p.  152. 


136  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

i.e.,  they  obtained  seats  on  credit.  Thus,  the  books  kept 
by  the  deputies  show  the  following  entry:  "Sabado  i8  de 
Mayo  de  1602,  debe  el  Corregidor  un  aposento.  El  Regi- 
dor  tres  ventanas.  El  Teniente  Antonio  Rodriguez  un 
aposento.    El  Principe  de  Marruecos  una  ventana."^ 

^  Tratado  historico,  etc.,  Vol.  I,  p.  86. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Women  on  the  stage.  In  France,  England,  and  Italy.  Women  on 
the  Spanish  stage.  The  companies  of  players.  Companias  reales. 
Companias  de  parte.  Smaller  companies.  The  Entertaining 
Journey  of  Rojas.    The  traveling  of  companies. 

It  is  probable  that  upon  the  Spanish  stage  women  were 
originally  impersonated  by  boys,  as  they  were  elsewhere 
in  Europe  during  the  greater  part  of  the  sixteenth  century; 
a  custom  which  lasted  in  England  till  after  the  Restoration. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  Is  quite  certain  that,  since  the  earliest 
times,  women  had  taken  part  in  public  festivals  and  re- 
ligious autos,  as  well  as  in  the  dances  connected  with 
them.*  Concerning  the  French  stage  Bapst  remarks:  "It 
is  to  be  observed  that  women,  who  at  the  close  of  the 
Middle  Ages  had  begun  to  appear  on  the  stage  in  pieces 
which  contained  nothing  objectionable  in  the  dialogue,  no 
longer  appeared  at  all  upon  the  stage  in  the  comedies  or 
tragedies  of  the  sixteenth  century."  ^ 

Mantzius  says:  "As  a  rule,  women  did  not  appear  upon 
the  medieval  stage,  but  children  frequently  did ;  they  repre- 

*The  abuses  mentioned  by  the  author  of  a  paper  entitled  Abusos  de  Co- 
medias  y  Tragedias,  quoted  by  Pellicer,  and  which  is  apparently  with- 
out date,  must  refer  to  the  earliest  years  of  the  Madrid  corrales. 
"Women  are  gradually  being  introduced  upon  the  stage  in  the  place  of 
boys,  although  the  performances  of  boys  of  good  appearance  and  rouged, 
attired  as  women,  are  held  by  some  to  be  even  a  greater  objection."  The 
author  also  deplores  the  fact  that  separate  places  were  not  provided  for 
men  and  women  in  the  theaters,  and  that  both  sexes  went  in  and  out  by  the 
same  door.  {Origen  y  Progresos,  etc.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  139,  140.)  The  latter 
complaint  could  only  have  been  justified  before  1582,  when  the  Corral  de 
la  Cruz  was  built,  which  set  apart  a  place  for  women,  as  we  have  seen 
above. 

'Essai  tur  I'histoire  du  Theatre,  Paris,  1893,  p.  146. 

137 


138  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

sented  angels,  young  girls,  or  children's  parts.  .  .  .  The 
more  important  female  parts  were  performed  by  half 
grown-up  youths,  and  particular  care  was  taken  to  choose 
young  men  who  were  beardless  and  good-looking,  and 
whose  voices  were  not  yet  breaking.  .  ,  .  On  very  rare 
occasions,  nevertheless,  women  are  seen  to  have  acted  in 
the  Mysteries.  Thus,  besides  the  famous  barber,  Metz 
possessed  another  scenic  celebrity  in  the  person  of  an 
actress  who  even  appeared  in  the  same  parts.  We  know, 
at  all  events,  that  she  performed  the  part  of  St.  Catherine, 
for  the  Chronicle  says:  'And  the  "person"  {personnaige) 
of  St.  Catherine  was  performed  by  a  young  girl,  about 
eighteen  years  old,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Dediet  the 
glazier,  and  she  did  her  duty  very  well  indeed,  to  the 
pleasure  and  delight  of  everybody.'  .  .  .  Though  this  case 
is  not  unique — at  the  Passion-play  in  Valenciennes,  1547, 
five  young  girls  took  part  in  the  performance — we  must 
take  it  for  granted  that  female  parts  were  only  excep- 
tionally acted  by  women.  This  is  so  much  the  more  sur- 
prising, as  women  frequently  appeared  in  the  historical 
pantomimes  and  tableaux  vivants,  which  the  medieval 
towns  habitually  produced  on  festive  occasions."* 

The  question  which  chiefly  concerns  us  is  the  public 
theater,  to  which  an  admission  fee  was  charged.  And  in 
regard  to  this  M.  Bapst  further  says:  "Women  did  not 
appear,  as  a  rule  (d'une  fagon  constante),  upon  a  regular 
[French]  theater  until  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  A  single  comedienne  de  profession  is  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  century — Marie  Fairet,  wife  of  le  Sieur 
Fairet,  in  1545."^    Again:  "At  the  beginning  of  the  six- 

^  History  of  Theatrical  Art,  Vol.  II,  p.  90. 

*Essai,  etc.,  p.  i8o.  Creizenach,  Geschichte  des  neueren  Dramas,  Vol. 
Ill,  p.  70,  gives  the  name  as  "Marie  Ferre,  die  Frau  des  Marktschreiers 
Michel  Fasset,"  and  quotes  the  contract  which  has  been  preserved,  wherein 
Marie  Ferre  agrees  with  "Anthoine  de  I'Espeyronnyere,  joueur  d'histoires,** 
"k  luy  aider  a  joer  chacun  jour  durant  le  diet  temps  tant  et  autant  de  foys 
que  lui  plaira  en  I'art  de  joueur  d'enticailles  de  Rome,  consistant  en 
plusieurs  ystoires  moralles,  farses  et  soubressaulx." 


FRENCH  PLAYERS  IN  LONDON        139 

teenth  century  women  appeared  occasionally  in  Paris 
theaters,  but  always  as  representing  the  Queen — the  parts  of 
soubrette,  nurse,  and  old  women's  roles  being  always  played 
by  men. ...  In  1629  a  troupe  of  French  actors,  containing 
women,  went  to  London  to  act,^  but  before  Richelieu  be- 
gan his  reforms  in  the  theater  (about  1635),  the  coarse- 
ness [of  the  plays]  excluded  every  respectable  woman 
from  the  stage  as  well  as  from  the  audience."  But  women, 
in  all  probability,  had  been  acting  regularly  in  Paris  for 
some  years  prior  to  this  date.  Indeed,  we  know  that 
Marie  Venier,  wife  of  the  comedian  Mathieu  le  Febvre, 
called  Laporte,  had  acted  at  least  as  early  as  1610  "sur  ce 
qu'on  veut  bien  appeler  le  theatre  du  Marais."^ 

England  it  was  not  till  September,  1656,  that  an 
English  actress  appeared  upon  the  stage  in  the  public 
theaters.  This  was  Mrs.  Coleman,  wife  of  Coleman,  the 
actor,  and  she  played  a  kind  of  operatic  part — lanthe,  in 
Davenant's  Siege  of  Rhodes.^  By  this  means  the  constant 
intercourse  with  France  and  Italy  had  produced  a  change 
in  the  public  taste,  so  that,  a  little  later,  the  royal  license 

*The  fact  is  noted  by  Malone,  Historical  Account  of  the  English  Stage, 
^d.  of  Basil,  1800,  pp.  130,  131 :  "1629. — November  4.  For  the  allowing  of  the 
French  company  [with  women  actors]  to  play  a  farce  at  Blackfriars,  £2." 
And  Mantzius  says  that  the  London  public  was  so  unaccustomed  to  the 
appearance  of  women  on  the  stage  that  the  actresses  belonging  to  this 
company  were  pelted  with  rotten  apples  when  they  appeared.  {History  of 
Theatrical  Art,  Vol.  II,  p.  280.)  Again,  Malone  says:  "in  the  office  book 
of  Philip  Earl  of  Pembroke  and  Montgomery,  I  find  a  warrant  for  the 
payment  of  £10.  to  Josias  Floridor  for  himself  and  the  rest  of  the  French 
players,  for  a  tragedy  by  them  acted  before  his  Majesty  in  December  last. 
Dated  Jan.  8,  1635-6."  For  the  scandal  caused  in  London  by  two  com- 
panies of  French  players  who  visited  that  city  in  1629  and  1633,  when  the 
actresses  were  insulted  and  hissed  off  the  stage,  see  Lotheissen,  Geschichte 
der  franzosischen  Literatur  im  XVU.  Jahrhundert,  Wien,  1897,  ^d.  I,  p. 
494.  Malone  also  quotes  the  following  item:  "£io.  paid  to  John  Navarro 
for  himself  and  the  rest  of  the  company  of  Spanish  players,  for  a  play 
presented  before  his  Majesty,  Dec.  23,  1635."  This  John  Navarro  was 
Juan  Navarro  Oliver,  who,  with  his  wife,  Jeronima  de  Olmedo,  had  be- 
longed to  the  company  of  Cristobal  de  Avendano  in  1632. 

*Rigal,  Le  Thidtre  Fran^ais  avant  la  Periode  classigue,  Paris,  1901,  pp. 
55.  59- 

'Sidney  Lee  says:  "The  first  role  that  was  professionally  rendered  by  a 


I40  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

obtained  by  Davenant  contained  the  following  clause: 
"That  whereas  the  women's  parts  in  plays  have  hitherto 
been  acted  by  men  in  the  habits  of  women,  at  which  some 
have  taken  offense,  we  do  permit  and  give  leave,  for  the 
time  to  come,  that  all  women's  parts  be  acted  by  women."* 

While  women  appeared  upon  the  public  stage  in  Italy 
early  in  the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Nicolo 
Barbieri  (Beltrame) ,  a  distinguished  actor,  in  his  pamphlet 
La  Suplica,  —  a.  sort  of  apology  for  the  dramatic  profes- 
sion, published  at  Bologna  in  1636,—  speaks  of  the  cus- 
tom, still  prevalent  in  his  day,  of  boys  playing  the  roles  of 
women  or  young  girls.^ 

The  earliest  Italian  actress  whose  name  has  survived  is 
mentioned  by  De  Sommi,  in  his  Dialog  hi  in  Materia  di 
Rappresentazione  scenica,  published  in  1565  or  1566,  in 
which  he  says:  "Mirabile  mi  e  sempre  paruto  e  pare  il 
recitare  di  una  giovane  donna  romana,  nominata  Flaminia, 
la  quale  oltre  all'  essere  di  molto  bella  qualita  ornata, 
talmente  e  giudicata  rara  in  quella  professione,  che  non 
credo  che  gli  antichi  vedessero  ne  si  possi  tra  moderni 
veder  meglio.  ...  So  che  molti  bei  spiriti,  invaghiti  delle 
sue  rare  maniere  gl'  hanno  fatto  et  Sonetti  et  Epigrammi, 
et  molti  altri  componimenti  in  sua  lode."* 

Concerning  Germany  M.  Bapst  says:  "To  the  actor 
Johannes  Velten  belongs  the  merit  of  having  first  definitely 
introduced  women  on  the  German  stage,  at  the  time  that 
he  translated  the  plays  of  Moliere.  In  1686  his  troupe 
included  three  actresses:  his  wife,  his  sister,  and  Sarah  von 

woman  in  a  public  theater  was  that  of  Desdemona  in  Othello,  apparently 
on  December  8,  1660.  The  actress  on  the  occasion  is  said  to  have  been 
Mrs.  Margaret  Hughes,  Prince  Rupert's  mistress."  {Shakespeare's  Life 
and  fVork,  p.  i88.     See  Malone,  Historical  Account,  p.  141.) 

*  Mantzius,  History  of  Theatrical  Art,  Vol.  II,  p.  280. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  270. 

*D'Ancona,  Origini  del  Teatro  Italiano,  Vol.  II,  p.  413.  These  Dialoghi 
dell'  Ebreo  Leone  de  Somi,  which  are  very  interesting,  may  now  be  read 
in  Rasi,  /  Comici  Italiani,  Firenze,  1897,  Vol.  I,  p.  107.  De  Somi,  a  Man- 
tuan,  "fu  autor  comico,  poeta  e  impresario  di  compagnie  comiche,*  as  is 
shown  by  a  letter  of  his  dated  April  15,  1567.     (Ibid.,  p.  106.) 


EARLY  SPANISH  ACTRESSES  141 

Bosberg.  In  1690  his  company  contained,  besides  his 
daughter,  two  actresses  by  profession,  named  Richter  and 
Moeller."! 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  women  appeared  upon  the 
stage  in  Spain,  in  the  public  squares  and  corrales,  at  a  very 
early  date.  Tt  is  quite  probable  that  Mariana,  the  first  wife 
of  Lope  de  Rueda,  acted  in  his  little  company  of  strolling 
players  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.^  As 
already  observed,  women  took  part  in  the  dances  that  al- 
ways formed  a  part  of  the  Corpws  Christi  celebrations,  and 
also  in  the  autos,  as  they  were  called,  from  very  early 
times.  A  passage  in  the  Cronica  de  los  Hechos  del  Con- 
destahle  Miguel  Lucas  de  Iranzo  proves  that  actresses 
appeared  upon  the  stage  in  the  ancient  momos  or  entre- 
meses.^  It  is  also  likely  that  women  acted  in  the  Italian 
company  of  Ganassa  in  Madrid  (1579-83),  andTirthe" 
latter  year  we  find  an  "obligation  and  agreement  entered 
into  between  Miguel  Vazquez  and  his  wife  Juana  Vazquez, 
and  Luis  de  Molina,  oficiales  de  comedias,  to  work  in  the 
company  of  Juan  Limos,  autor  de  comedias,  from  this  date 
[Madrid,  March  15,  1583]  until  Shrovetide  of  1584, 
receiving  nine  and  a  half  reals  for  the  three  persons  at  the 
end  of  each  performance,  besides  food,  drink,  lodging, 
and  clean  linen,  and  all  expenses  of  travel."*  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  an  agreement  was  made  by  Agustin  Solano, 
actor,  residing  in  Madrid,  "for  himself  and  in  the  name  of 
Roca  Paula,  his  wife,  being  in  the  court  [Madrid],  with 
Tomas  de  la  Fuente,  autor  de  comedias,  native  of  Toledo, 
to  help  him  in  all  the  comedias  and  entremeses  which  he 
may  represent  from  this  date  [March  5,  1584]  till  Shrove- 

'  Opus  cit.,  p.  280.  On  the  other  hand,  we  are  told  that  in  Germany,  as 
late  as  1717,  no  women  were  allowed  upon  the  stage.  {Shakespere  Jahr- 
buch,  Vol.  XXI,  p.  236.) 

*  See  above,  pp.  11,  12. 

■  Fitzmaurice-Kelly,  Litterature  Espagnole,  Paris,  1904,  p.  178. 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Bulletin  Hispanique,  1906,  p.  153.  The  term  oficial  in- 
stead of  the  more  usual  representante  is  used  by  Rojas,  F'tage  entretenido, 
p.  53,  where  he  speaks  of  "una  corapaiiia  de  tan  buenos  oficiales." 


142  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

tide  of  1585,  receiving  nine  reals  for  each  performance, 
besides  four  and  a  half  reals  for  maintenance,  in  case  the 
company  should  not  provide  it."^  Roca  Paula^  being  a 
married  woman,  could  not  make  a  binding  contract  with- 
out her  husband's  joining  in  it. 

While  these  are  the  earliest  instances  that  I  have  found 
recorded,  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  women  acted  upon 
the  stage  at  Madrid  even  prior  to  this  time.  Still,  it  ap- 
pears that  no  license  allowing  women  to  act  in  the  public 
theaters  of  the  capital  was  granted  before  1587.  On 
November  1 7  of  that  year,  Pedro  Paez  de  Sotomayor,  on 
behalf  of  his  son-in-law,  Alonso  de  Cisneros  {autor  de 
comedias,  then  absent  from  the  city),  presented  a  petition 
to  the  Corregidor  of  Madrid,  setting  forth  that  the  Coun- 
cil of  his  Majesty  had  granted  a  license  permitting  married 
women  tb  act  upon  the  stage,  and  that,  in  pursuance  of  that 
license,  women  were  then  acting  publicly  in  Madrid,  and 
he  requested  the  same  license  for  his  son-in-law,  then  in 
Seville,  "so  that  it  may  be  evident  to  the  justices  of  the 
said  city  or  of  any  other  place  where  he  may  give  repre- 
sentations." It  recited  another  petition  by  the  company 
called  the  Confidentes  Italianos,^  wherein  these  declare 
that  they  cannot  perform  the  comedias  which  they  have, 
without  the  women  of  their  company,  and  pray  for  a 
license  permitting  these  women  to  act.  This  latter  petition 
had  been  granted  "inasmuch  as  the  women  in  the  company 
are  married  women  and  their  husbands  are  with  them." 
It  was  especially  provided,  however,  that  they  should  not 
be  permitted  to  appear  in  the  habit  or  dress  of  men,  and 
that  "henceforth  no  boy  be  allowed  to  act  attired  as  a 
woman. "^ 

'Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  15.  Ana  de  Velasco,  wife  of  the  actor 
Sebastian  de  Monteraayor,  was  also  a  member  of  a  company  of  players  in 
Madrid,  in  1584. 

'The  Confidentes  Ital'ianos  were  originally  one  of  the  companies  of  the 
Duke  of  Mantua.  (Baschet,  Les  Comediens  Italiens,  Paris,  1882,  p.  23, 
and  D'Ancona,  Origini  del  Teatro  Italiano,  Vol.  II,  pp.  465  ei  passim.) 

'Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  pp.  19-23. 


PANEM  ET  CIRCENSES  143 

The  Italian  actresses  to  whom  a  license  was  especially- 
granted  were  Angela  Salomona  and  Angela  Martinelli/ 
"married  women  whose  husbands  are  members  of  the  same 
company,"  and  Silvia  Roncagli  (la  Frances quina)  .^  Ap- 
pended to  the  petition  of  Pedro  Paez  de  Sotomayor  were 
the  depositions  of  two  witnesses  who,  "on  the  twenty-first 
day  of  the  present  month  of  November"  (1587),  had 
seen  a  comedia  played  by  the  Italians  in  the  Corral  del 
Principe,  in  which  three  women  acted.^ 

About  this  time  (1588),  as  already  observed,  the 
famous  dance  called  tlie  zarahanda  was  introduced  upon 
the  stage,  to  be  followed  by  others  hardly  less  wild  and 
Irrdecorous,  and  theatrical  entertainments,  always  favored 
by  the  people,  suddenly  assumed  a  popularity  that  was 
unprecedented.  Doubtless  these  "pestiferous"  dances  con- 
tributed in  no  small  degree  to  the  vogue  which  the  theater 
now  attained.  But,  as  Pellicer  remarks,^  the  growing 
popularity  of  theatrical  representations  and  the  conse- 
quent increase  in  the  number  of  theaters  and  players 
throughout  Spain,  "the  dances,  songs,  expensive  costumes, 
and  the  acting,  not  only  of  women,  but  of  women  disguised 
as  men,  and  the  easy  virtue  of  the  theatrical  profession, 
soon  made  the  question  of  the  continuance  of  theatrical 
representations  a  matter  of  grave  controversy."    A  num- 

^  Concerning  Angela  Martinelli,  wife  of  Drusiano  Martinelli,  one  of  the 
naanagers  of  this  company  /  Confidenti,  see  above,  pp.  45,  46. 

'Referring  to  the  latter,  the  decree  states:  "Si  la  Francesquina  es  la  que 
yo  vi  en  la  posada  del  senor  Cardenal,  no  la  tengo  por  muchacho  y  ansi 
podra  representar."     (Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  23.) 

*  Fr.  Juan  de  Pineda,  in  the  Primera  parte  de  los  Treynta  y  cinco  didlo- 
gos  familiares  de  la  A gr'tcultura  cristiana,  published  at  Salamanca  in 
1589,  but  the  Aprobacion  of  which  is  dated  15^1,  alludes  to  these  Italian 
companies  as  "los  extrangeros  que  sacan  muchos  millares  de  ducados  de 
Espana  cada  un  ano,"  and  mentions  the  subjects  of  some  of  the  farsas 
played  by  them.  Reproving  the  priesthood  for  visiting  these  plays,  he 
says:  "jque  no  se  os  cubra  la  cara  de  vergiienza  de  que  os  vean  autori- 
zando  y  gozando  de  los  cuentos  de  Medea  y  de  Jason,  y  de  Paris  y  Elena, 
y  Eneas  y  Dido,  y  de  Piramo  y  Tisbe."  (Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias, 
etc.,  p.  505.) 

*  Tratado  historico,  etc..  Vol.  I,  p.  119. 


144  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

ber  of  eminent  theologians  took  part  in  the  discussion, 
and  opinion  was  divided.  Among  those  who  favored 
the  continuance  of  these  spectacles  was  Fr.  Alonso  de 
Mendoza,  an  Augustinian  and  professor  in  the  University 
of  Salamanca,  who  declared,  in  1587,  "that  the  repre- 
sentation of  comedias  as  they  are  now  represented  in  Spain 
is  not,  of  itself,  a  mortal  sin,  provided  that  lascivious 
songs  and  gestures  be  not  introduced."^ 

The  government  accepted  this  view  of  the  matter,  with 
the  effect  of  multiplying  theaters  and  players,^  adding 
to  the  number— already  great— of  entremeses,  and  intro- 
ducing new  dances,  "and  not  the  most  decent  ones,"  as 
Pellicer  naively  remarks.  And  in  order  to  give  the  theater 
a  certain  air  of  piety  and  good  repute,  so  many  comedias 
de  Santos  were  written  and  acted  that,  as  Rojas  says: 

...  al  fin  no  quedo  poeta 
En  Sevilla,  que  no  hiciese 
De  algun  santo  su  comedia. 

It  was  even  held  that  these  plays  were  conducive  to 
religion  and  good  morals,  and  in  a  memorial  to  Philip  II, 
in  1598,  it  was  declared  as  a  well-known  fact  that  "several 
actors  who  had  represented  the  lives  of  St.  Francis  and 
other  saints,  as  well  as  some  of  the  spectators,  went 
straight  from  the  playhouse  to  take  the  habit  of  St. 
Francis  or  of  the  saint  represented,  being  stung  by  com- 
punction."^ On  the  other  hand,  the  Jesuit  Mariana  cites 
the  case  of  an  actress  who  took  the  part  of  Magdalena  in 

*  Tratado  historico,  etc.,  Vol.  I,  p.  120. 

'  The  theaters  of  Madrid  were,  on  the  contrary,  gradually  reduced  to  the 
two  principal  playhouses  in  the  Calle  de  la  Cruz  and  in  the  Calle  del 
Principe.  Many  other  important  cities,  such  as  Seville,  Valencia,  Granada, 
and  Saragossa,  had  permanent  theaters,  and  no  town  was  so  small  that  it 
was  not  visited  by  strolling  bands  of  players,  so\  great  had  the  craze  for 
the  theater  become.  By  an  order  of  June  22,  1600,  Fleay  tells  us,  only  two 
playhouses  were  to  be  allowed  in  London,  the  Globe  and  the  Fortune. 
(Chronicle  History  of  the  English  Stage,  Vol.  I,  p.  160.)  This  order  was 
never  observed. 

'  Pellicer,  Vol.  I,  p.  122. 


THEATRICAL  COMPANIES  145 

one  of  these  comedias  de  santos,  and  of  the  actor  who 
represented  Christ,  both  of  whom,  he  says,  were  noto- 
riously immoral,  *'which  was  all  the  worse,  inasmuch  as 
they  were  famous  players,  and  had  often  brought  tears  to 
the  eyes  of  the  spectators."^ 

Indeed,  the  "desenvoltura"  of  the  actresses  finally 
brought  things  to  such  a  pass  that  on  September  5,  1596, 
women  were  forbidden  to  appear  upon  the  stage. ^  This 
proKTBitTon,  if  ever  enforced,  was  certainly  of  short  dura- 
tion. ■ 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  companies  of  players  as  they 
were  organized  at  this  time.  As  early  as  1586  a  theatrical 
company  contained  thirteen  or  fourteen  persons,  besides 
the  autor  or  director,  for  we  find  the  company  of  the 
famous  Nicolas  de  los  Rios  then  consisting  of  that 
number,  and  even  at  the  very  height  of  the  Spanish 
drama,  from  16 10  to  1640,  the  average  number  did  not 
exceed  from  sixteen  to  twenty  players.^  As  the  number  of 
characters  to  be  represented  in  the  comedia  frequently  ex- 
ceeded the  number  of  actors  in  the  company,  it  was  not 

*  Ibid.,  p.  122. 

'This  instrument,  preserved  in  the  library  of  the  Academy  of  History  at 
Madrid,  was  first  published  by  Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  29.  It  reads  as 
follows:  "Orden  del  Consejo  a  las  Justicias  del  Reino. — *En  el  Consejo  se 
tiene  noticia  que  en  las  comedias  y  representaciones  que  se  recitan  en  esta 
ciudad  salen  mugeres  a  representar,  de  que  se  siguen  muchos  inconvenien- 
tes,  tendreys  particular  cuydado  de  que  mugeres  no  representen  en  las  dichas 
comedias,  puniendoles  las  penas  que  os  pareciere,  aperciviendoles  que 
haciendo  lo  contrario  se  executara  en  ellas. — de  Madrid  a  cinco  de  Setien- 
bre  de  mil  e  quinientos  y  noventa  y  seys  anos.'  "  It  is  also  now  reprinted 
in  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  44. 

'  More  than  half  a  century  after  this,  theatrical  companies  in  France  were 
even  much  smaller.  The  company  of  Moliere,  when  he  appeared  for  the 
first  time  on  the  Paris  stage  after  his  return  from  the  provinces,  on 
October  24,  1658,  consisted  of  the  following  pine  persons:  Joseph  Bejart; 
Louis  Bejart,  his  younger  brother;  Sr.  du  Pare,  whose  real  name  was  Rene 
Berthelot,  and  stage-name  Grosrene ;  Charles  du  Fresne ;  Sr.  de  Brie ; 
Madeleine  Bejart,  sister  of  Joseph;  Mile,  du  Pare;  Mile,  de  Brie,  whose 
stage-name  was  Catherine  du  Rosne ;  Genevieve  Herve,  whose  real  name 
was  Bejart,  and  who  was  a  sister  of  Madeleine.  Moliere's  company  gen- 
erally consisted  of  twelve  to  fifteen  persons.  The  first  appearance  of  the 
company  in  Paris  was   in   Corneille's  Nicomede   and   Moliere's   Docteur 


146  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

unusual  for  a  player  to  take  two  or  even  three  parts.  In 
many  manuscripts  of  the  comedias  of  Lope  de  Vega  and 
other  early  dramatists,  the  "reparto"  (dramatis  persona) 
shows  this.  Indeed,  Cervantes,  at  the  close  of  his  come- 
dia  El  Rufian  dichoso,  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  all 
the  female  characters  in  the  play  can  be  taken  by  two 
women. ^  In  the  Elizabethan  drama  this  was  also  fre- 
quently the  case;  so,  in  the  Induction  to  Marston's  An- 
tonio and  Mellida  (1602),  Piero  asks  Alberto  what  part 
he  acts.  He  replies :  "the  necessity  of  the  play  forceth  me 
to  act  two  parts." 

Whether  theatrical  companies  were  licensed  in  Spain 
prior  to  1600,  I  do  not  know:  it  is  probable,  though  I  do 
not  find  the  fact  noted  anywhere.  By  an  ordinance  of 
1600,  however,  and  again  by  a  decree  of  1603,  the  number 
of  licensed  companies  was  limited,  the  latter  decree  naming 
the  eight  heads  of  companies  who  received  the  license  of 
the  King  to  represent  comedias,  which  number  was  in- 
creased to  twelve  by  a  decree  of  1615.^  The  companies 
authorized  by  these  decrees  were  called  companias  reales 
or  de  titulo.  But  at  no  time,  despite  these  royal  ordinances, 
were  the  companies  limited  to  those  therein  specified. 
Numerous  other  companies  soon  sprang  up,  called  com- 
panias de  la  legua,  which,  acting  without  the  King's 
license,  overran  the  whole  peninsula. 

Theatrical  companies  in  Spain  were  of  two  kinds :  those 
in  which  the  players  worked  for  a  salary  paid  them  by  the 

Amoureux.  They  played  in  the  Salle  des  Gardes  du  vieux  Louvre,  on 
Monday,  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday.  After  July  9,  1659,  Mo- 
liere  and  his  company  were  allowed,  on  the  payment  of  1500  livres,  to 
play  on  Sunday,  Tuesday,  and  Friday,  which  were  the  most  fashionable 
days  and  were  called  the  jours  ordinaires.  {Registre  de  La  Grange,  Paris, 
1876,  p.  3;  Fischmann,  Moliere  als  Schauspiel-direktor,  in  Ztft.  fur  Fran- 
tost  sc  he  Sprache,  1905.) 

*  "Hase  de  aduertir,  que  todas  las  figuras  de  muger  desta  Comedia,  las 
pueden  hazer  solas  dos  mugeres."  {Ocho  Comedias,  etc.,  Madrid,  1615, 
fol.  H2.) 

'These  decrees  regulating  theatrical  companies  will  be  considered  in 
Chapter  X. 


CLARAMONTE'S  COMPANY  147 

autor  or  manager,  and  those  in  which  the  players  worked 
on  shares.  The  latter  were  called  companias  de  parte. 
Such  a  company  was  organized  in  June,  1614,  by  the  well- 
known  autor  and  dramatist  Andres  de  Claramonte.^  The 
agreement  has  been  preserved,  and  is  as  follows : 

Agreement  and  obligation  of  Andres  de  Claramonte,  one  of  the 
autor es  de  comedias  appointed  by  his  Majesty,  with  Pedro  Cerezo 
de  Guevara,  Francisco  Mendoza,  Juan  Gasque,  Miguel  de  Ayuso, 
for  himself  and  for  Luisa  de  Reinoso,  his  wife,  Fernando  Perez  and 
Maria  de  Montesinos,  his  wife,  Maria  Gabriela  and  Francisca 
Maria,  her  daughter,  Sebastiana  Vazquez,  sister  of  the  said  Fer- 
nando Perez,  and  Alonso  Garcia,  to  form  a  company  of  players. 
And  first  that  the  said  Andres  de  Claramonte,  Pedro  Cerezo  de 
Guevara,  etc.,  .  .  ,  form  a  partnership  company  (compania  de 
partes)  for  the  time  and  space  that  still  remains  of  the  present  year, 
and  which  shall  end  at  Shrovetide  of  the  coming  year,  during  which 
time  the  above-mentioned  and  each  one  of  them  bind  themselves  to 
go  together  in  the  form  of  a  company  and  to  play  in  all  the  towns 
of  this  kingdom  and  beyond  during  the  said  time,  and  to  represent 
therein  all  the  comedies  and  plays  which  the  said  Andres  de  Clara- 
monte possesses,  by  virtue  of  which  the  said  Andres  de  Claramonte 
binds  himself  to  furnish  (in  order  that  they  may  be  represented  by 
the  said  company)  as  many  as  forty  comedias  and  such  others  as 
the  said  company  may  require,  besides  the  necessary  entremeses, 
letraSj  and  bailes. 

Item:  That  the  various  roles  in  the  comedias  shall  be  assigned 
amongst  the  members  of  the  said  company  in  such  manner  as  shall 
seem  most  suitable  to  each  in  the  opinion  of  the  said  company. 

Item:  During  the  said  time  the  said  members  and  each  of  them 
shall  be  bound,  and  by  these  presents  are  bound,  to  attend  with  all 
care  and  punctuality  the  rehearsals  of  all  the  comedias  to  be  repre- 
sented each  day,  at  nine  o'clock,  at  the  house  of  the  said  Andres  de 
Claramonte,  where  rehearsals  are  ordinarily  to  take  place,  and  shall 
not  fail  to  be  present  at  any  one  of  the  said  rehearsals,  under  penalty 
of  two  reals  to  each  one  who  shall  not  attend  them  in  time  and 

*  Claramonte,  whose  wife  was  Beatriz  de  Castro,  died  in  the  Calle  del 
Nino,  Madrid,  on  September  19,  1626.  (Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p. 
211.) 


148  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

when  he  is  called  upon  to  speak;  and  if,  being  present  at  the  said 
rehearsal,  he  shall  leave  it,  and  another  should  be  obliged  to  speak 
for  him,  he  shall  pay  likewise  as  a  penalty  one  real  every  time  that 
this  happens.  And  the  said  fines  and  penalties  are  to  be  deposited 
with  a  certain  person  to  be  appointed,  so  that  they  may  be  dis- 
tributed according  to  the  will  of  the  said  company,  in  charities  and 
pious  works,  masses,  etc.  The  said  fines  to  be  paid  on  the  same 
day  by  the  member  thus  incurring  them,  out  of  the  amount  to  be 
received  by  him  on  that  day  for  acting  and  for  maintenance  {de 
rac'ion ) . 

Item:  That  during  the  said  term  there  is  to  be  a  deposit  chest 
with  three  keys,  which  chest  is  to  remain  in  the  custody  of  the  said 
Maria  Gabriela,  the  which  keys  the  company  will  in  due  time 
deliver  to  the  persons  who  may  be  agreed  upon.  Into  this  chest 
are  to  be  put,  from  each  performance  that  may  be  given,  public  as 
well  as  private,  during  the  said  time,  twenty-five  reals,  which  are 
always  to  remain  deposited,  and  the  chest  is  not  to  be  opened  until 
the  said  day  of  Shrovetide,  which  is  the  term  when  the  said  com- 
pany ceases  to  be  effective,  in  the  said  year  one  thousand  six  hundred 
and  fifteen ;  and  then  the  said  chest  is  to  be  opened,  and  the  money 
which  may  be  deposited  therein  is  to  be  divided  amongst  all  the 
members  of  the  said  company  conformably  to  what  each  one  may 
be  entitled  to,  according  to  this  writing  and  which  will  be  declared 
below. 

Item:  That  from  the  proceeds  of  each  of  the  comedias  which 
may  be  represented  are  to  be  taken  two  reals,  which  the  company 
may  distribute  in  alms,  masses,  and  pious  works,  together  with  the 
fines  to  be  imposed  upon  the  members  for  failing  to  be  present  at 
the  rehearsals. 

Item:  If  during  the  said  time  any  member  of  the  said  company 
should  fall  sick,  there  is  to  be  given  to  him  the  share  which  may  be- 
long to  him  m  conformity  with  this  writing — just  as  if  he  had  really 
acted  and  taken  part — as  well  for  acting  as  for  maintenance,  and 
if  he  should  remain  behind  sick  in  any  place  where  the  company 
should  happen  to  be,  he  is  to  be  paid  the  expense  which  he  incurs 
for  conveyance  from  that  place  to  the  place  where  the  company  may 
then  be. 

Item :  That  during  the  said  time  the  said  Andres  de  Claramonte 
is  to  have  and  to  take  from  what  may  proceed  from  all  the  said 


LOS  CONFORMES  149 

representations  which  may  be  given  and  from  each  one  of  them, 
public  as  well  as  private,  on  account  of  the  labor  of  composition  and 
study  of  them,  six  reals,  and  besides  these  six  reals  he  is  to  have  as  his 
share  (de  parte)  ten  reals,  and  four  reals  for  maintenance  every  day 
that  there  may  be  representations ;  .  .  .  and  the  said  Pedro  Cerezo  de 
Guevara  also  ten  reals  as  his  share  and  four  reals  for  maintenance ; 
.  .  .  Juan  Gasque  four  reals  as  his  share  and  four  reals  for  mainte- 
nance; Fernando  Perez  and  Maria  de  Montesinos,  his  wife,  four- 
teen reals  as  their  share,  besides  eight  reals  for  maintenance ;  Maria 
Gabriela  and  Francisca  Maria,  her  daughter,  sixteen  reals,  besides 
four  reals  for  maintenance ;  Miguel  de  Ayuso  and  Luisa  de  Reinoso, 
his  wife,  ten  reals,  besides  seven  reals  for  maintenance ;  and  Alonso 
Garcia,  four  reals  and  three  for  maintenance. 

Item:  That  if,  during  the  said  time,  any  member  of  the  said 
company  shall  absent  himself  from  it,  he  shall  lose  all  that  would 
have  fallen  to  his  share,  as  well  of  the  amount  that  may  be  de- 
posited in  the  said  chest  as  of  the  costumes  which  the  said  company 
may  have  acquired  during  the  said  time,  and  shall  lose  fifty  ducats 
besides,  .  .  .  which  sum  is  to  be  shared  amongst  the  other  members 
of  the  said  company  who  may  remain  therein.^ 

This  agreement  fairly  represents  all  those  made  in  simi- 
lar cases.  In  another,  executed  on  July  8,  1614,  the 
various  members  are  to  meet  at  nine  every  morning,  at  the 
house  of  Pedro  Bravo,  for  rehearsal.  Here  four  reals 
are  set  aside  from  the  proceeds  of  each  performance  until 
the  amount  reaches  400  reals,  which  are  to  be  paid  to  Luis 
de  Monzon  for  providing  the  costumes  for  the  company.^ 
A  similar  troupe,  called  Los  Conformes,  was  organized  by 
Juan  de  Vargas,  Andres  de  Chavarria,  Sebastian  Gon- 
zalez, and  others  in  Madrid,  in  1623.  They  were  to  go 
to  the  town  of  Leganes  on  October  14  and  perform  the 
comedia  La  Morica  garrida  of  Juan  de  Villegas,  with  its 
loa,  music,  entremes,  and  hayles,  for  the  sum  of  400  reals.^ 

*P6rez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  pp.  145-148.  Such  a  company  was  also 
formed  in  1634  by  Fernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas  and  Juan  de  Malaguilla. 
(See  ibid.,  p.  235.) 

Ubid. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  202.     Other  companies  were  La  Compania  espanola  in  1602 


I50  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Besides  the  compahias  reales  and  the  compahias  de  parte ^ 
there  were  many  other  kinds,  ranging  down  the  whole 
gamut  to  the  lone  traveling  mountebank.  They  can  best 
be  described  in  the  words  of  Agustin  de  Rojas  Villan- 
drando,  whose  Viage  entretenido,  first  published  at  Madrid 
in  1603,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  works  that  we 
possess  concerning  the  early  Spanish  stage.  Rojas  was 
born  in  Madrid  about  1575,  and  was  in  turn  page,  soldier, 
scrivener  in  Granada  ( 1 599 ) ,  and  finally  an  actor.  It  was 
in  Seville,  as  he  tells  us,  that  he  first  saw  a  comedia  acted, 
and  there  he  became  a  member  of  the  company  of  Antonio 
de  Villegas,  probably  in  1600.^  As  he  wrote  his  Enter- 
taining Journey  in  1602,  his  professional  experience  was 
very  limited,  not  extending  over  more  than  two  or  three 
years.  Many  of  his  statements  concerning  the  history  of 
the  stage  are  therefore  to  be  received  with  caution,  but, 
as  he  had  been  himself  a  strolling  player,  his  description 
of  the  various  bands  of  actors  which  were  then  perambu- 
lating the  peninsula  are,  in  the  main,  trustworthy,  though 
doubtless  somewhat  highly  colored  for  effect.^ 

The  Viage  entretenido,  it  may  be  observed  here,  is  in 

(Nuevos  Datos,  p.  76)  and  Los  Andaluces  in  1605,  the  latter  consisting  of 
Francisco  Garcia  de  Toledo,  Diego  de  Monserrate  and  his  wife  Mariana 
Rodriguez,  Juan  de  Ostos  and  his  wife  Maria  de  Herrera,  Luis  de  Castro, 
Cristobal  de  Barrio,  and  Luis  de  Alvarez.  {Ibid.,  p.  89.)  Such  companies 
formed  the  nearest  parallel  in  Spain  to  the  "sharers"  of  the  Elizabethan 
theater,  as  distinguished  from  the  "hired  men," 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  105.  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  pp.  351- 
353,  publishes  an  interesting  document  concerning  Agustin  de  Rojas.  It  ia 
an  agreement  made  in  Valladolid  on  February  26,  1602,  between  Miguel 
Ramirez,  autor  de  comedias,  and  Agustin  de  Rojas,  actor,  in  which  the 
latter  agrees  to  act  in  all  the  comedias  that  may  be  produced  as  well  in  this 
city  [Valladolid]  as  in  any  other  place  where  the  said  Miguel  Ramirez 
may  be,  as  well  in  the  theater  as  in  any  other  part  or  spot  that  may  be 
designated  during  the  said  year,  from  the  date  of  this  writing  [February 
26,  1602]  until  Shrovetide  of  the  coming  year,  1603,  and  for  which  the 
said  Ramirez  is  to  pay  Rojas  2800  reals,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  "a 
doubloon  for  the  washing  of  his  linen,"  and  shall  furnish  transportation 
for  Rojas,  the  latter  binding  himself  to  act  with  no  other  company  during 
the  said  time,  etc. 

*  Among  other  works,  Rojas  was  also  the  author  of  a  comedia  El  natural 
desdichado,  which  has  been  edited   from  the  autograph  in  the  Biblioteca 


FARANDULEROS  151 

the  form  of  a  conversation  between  four  persons:  [Nicolas 
de  los]  Rios,  [Miguel]  Ramirez,  [Agustin]  Solano,  and 
the  author  of  the  work,  Agustin  de  Rojas,  all  actors,  and 
the  first  two  were,  besides,  famous  autores  de  comedias  or 
directors  of  companies.  In  the  course  of  the  conversation 
Rios  had  mentioned  Cosme  de  Oviedo,  "that  well-known 
autor  of  Granada,  who  was  the  first  to  use  posters" 
(p.  132).  To  which  Solano  adds:  "And  also  the  first 
to  take  a  gangarilla  through  the  towns  on  the  coast." 
To  the  query  of  Ramirez,  "What  is  a  gangarillaf"  Solano 
replies:  "It  is  clear  that  you  have  not  had  much  experience 
of  the  fardndula,  for  you  ask  about  such  a  well-known 
matter."  To  which  Rios:  "I  have  been  an  autor  for  more 
than  thirty  years,  and  this  is  the  first  time  that  it  has  come 
to  my  notice." 

Solano:  Well  then,  know  that  there  are  eight  kinds  of  companies 
of  actors,  and  all  quite  different;  .  .  .  there  is  the  bululu,  haque, 
gangarilla,  cambaleo,  garnacha,  boxiganga,  fardndula,  and  the  com- 
pany. A  bululu  is  a  player  who  travels  alone  and  afoot ;  he  enters 
a  village,  goes  to  the  curate,  and  tells  him  that  he  knows  a  comedia 
and  a  loa  or  two;  he  asks  him  to  call  the  barber  and  sacristan, 
and  he  will  recite  it  to  them,  so  that  they  may  give  him  something, 
that  he  may  proceed  on  his  way.  These  having  assembled,  he 
mounts  upon  a  chest,  and  begins  to  recite,  remarking  as  he  goes  on : 
"Now  the  lady  enters  and  says  so-and-so,"  and  continues  his  acting 
while  the  curate  passes  around  the  hat,  and  having  gathered  four 
or  five  quartos,  the  curate  adds  a  piece  of  bread  and  a  bowl  of 
soup,  and  with  this  he  follows  his  star  and  continues  his  way. 
A  naque  consists  of  two  men ;  they  enact  an  entremes  or  portions  of 
an  auto,  recite  some  octavas  and  two  or  three  has;  they  wear 
a  beard  of  sheepskin  (zamarro) ,  play  a  drum,  and  charge  an  ochavo 
[=2  maravedis],  or  in  other  kingdoms  [parts  of  Spain]  a  dinerlllo 
(that  Is  what  Rios  and  I  used  to  do)  ;  they  live  contentedly,  sleep 
In  their  clothes,  go  barefoot,  are  always  hungry,  rid  themselves  of 
their  fleas  amid  the  grain  in  summer  and  do  not  feel  them  on 

Nacional,  Madrid,  and  published  by  Sr.  Paz  y  Melia  in  the  Revista  de 

Archives  for  1900. 


152  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

account  of  the  cold  in  winter.  Gangarilla  is  a  bigger  company; 
here  there  are  three  or  four  men :  one  who  can  play  the  fool  ( que 
sabe  tocar  una  locura)  and  a  boy  who  plays  the  women's  roles. 
They  represent  the  auto  "The  Lost  Sheep,"  have  beards  and  wigs 
{cauellera),  borrow  a  woman's  skirt  and  bonnet  (which  they  some- 
times forget  to  return),  play  two  comic  entremeses,  charge  each 
spectator  a  quarto  [=:  4  maravedis],  and  also  accept  a  piece  of  bread, 
eggs,  sardines,  or  any  kind  of  odds  and  ends,  which  they  put  into  a 
bag.  They  eat  roast  meat,  sleep  on  the  ground,  drink  their  draught 
of  wine,  travel  constantly,  show  in  every  farm-yard,  and  always 
have  their  arms  crossed. 

Rios:  Why? 

Solano:  Because  they  never  have  a  cloak  to  their  backs.  The 
cambaleo  consists  of  a  woman  who  sings  and  five  men  who  lament; 
they  have  a  comedia,  two  autos,  three  or  four  entremeses,  a  bundle 
of  clothes  which  a  spider  could  carry,  and  transport  the  woman  now 
on  their  backs,  now  on  a  litter  or  hand-chair  {s'llla  de  manos). 
They  act  in  the  farm-yards  for  a  loaf  of  bread,  a  bunch  of  grapes, 
a  stew  of  cabbage,  and  in  the  villages  charge  six  maravedis,  a  piece 
of  sausage,  a  task  of  flax,  and  anything  else  that  happens  along  (not 
refusing  the  most  worthless  gift).  They  remain  in  one  spot  four 
to  six  days,  hire  a  bed  for  the  woman,  and  if  any  of  the  men  be  on 
good  terms  with  the  hostess,  he  gets  a  bundle  of  straw  and  a  cover 
and  sleeps  in  the  kitchen,  while  in  winter  the  straw-loft  is  his  con- 
stant habitation.  At  noon  they  eat  their  beef-stew  and  each  one 
six  bowls  of  broth,  all  sitting  at  a  table  or  sometimes  on  the  bed. 
The  woman  distributes  the  food,  shares  out  the  bread  and  measures 
the  watered  wine,  and  each  one  wipes  his  hands  wherever  he  can, 
for  they  have  but  one  napkin  amongst  them,  and  the  table-cloths  are 
so  shy  that  they  do  not  cover  the  table  by  a  foot.  A  garnacha  con- 
sists of  five  or  six  men,  a  woman  who  plays  first  lady's  roles  and  a 
boy  who  plays  the  second ;  they  carry  a  chest  containing  two  smock- 
frocks,  a  coat,  three  pelisses,  beards,  wigs,  and  a  woman's  costume 
of  taffeta  (tiritana).  Their  repertory  consists  of  four  comedias,  three 
autos  and  as  many  entremeses;  they  carry  the  chest  on  a  donkey's 
back  and  the  woman,  grumbling,  on  his  rump,  while  the  rest  of  the 
company  follow  afoot,  driving  the  donkey.  They  remain  eight 
days  in  a  town,  sleep  four  in  a  bed,  eat  a  stew  of  beef  and  mutton, 
and  some  evenings  a  fricassee  well  seasoned.    They  get  their  wine 


DUM  FATA  SINUNT,  VIVITE  LAETI    153 

in  drams,  their  meat  in  ounces,  their  bread  in  pounds,  and  hunger 
by  quarters  [^arroba:=  11.5  kilos].  They  give  private  perform- 
ances for  a  fried  chicken,  a  boiled  rabbit,  four  reals  in  money,  two 
quarts  of  w^ine,  and  may  be  hired  for  a  festival  for  twelve  reals.  In 
a  boxiganga  there  are  two  women,  a  boy,  and  six  or  seven  com- 
panions, and  not  seldom  do  they  meet  with  vexations,  for  there  is 
never  lacking  a  fool,  a  bully,  an  impatient,  an  importunate,  a 
sentimental,  a  jealous  or  a  love-sick  fellow,  and  having  any 
one  of  these  you  can  never  travel  with  security,  live  contentedly,  or 
even  have  much  money.  They  are  provided  with  six  comedias, 
three  or  four  autos,  five  entremeses,  two  chests — one  containing  the 
baggage  of  the  company,  the  other  the  women's  clothes.  They  hire 
four  pack-mules — one  for  the  chests,  two  for  the  women,  and  the 
other  on  which  the  men  may  alternate  every  quarter-league.  They 
generally  have  two  cloaks  among  the  seven  players,  and  with  these 
they  enter  two  by  two,  like  the  friars.  Often,  however,  the  mule- 
driver  makes  off  with  them,  leaving  the  actors  cloakless.  Such 
players  dine  well;  all  sleep  in  four  beds,  perform  by  night  and 
at  festivals  by  day,  and  sup  mostly  on  hash  (ensalada),  for,  as 
they  finish  the  comedia  late,  they  always  find  a  cold  supper.  While 
on  the  road  they  are  fond  of  sleeping  by  the  fireplaces,  for  perchance 
these  may  be  hung  with  blood-puddings,  chines,  or  sausages.  These 
they  enjoy  with  their  eyes,  touch  with  their  fingers,  and  invite 
their  friends,  wrapping  the  sausages  around  their  bodies,  the  blood- 
puddings  around  their  thighs,  and  stowing  away  the  chines,  pigs' 
feet,  chickens,  and  other  trifles  in  holes  in  the  yards  or  stables ;  and 
if  they  happen  to  be  in  a  country  inn,  which  is  the  safest,  they  mark 
the  spot,  so  that  they  may  know  where  the  dead  are  buried.  That 
sort  of  a  boxiganga  is  dangerous,  for  it  is  more  changeable  than  the 
moon  and  more  unsafe  than  the  border-land,  unless  it  has  a  good 
head  to  rule  it.  The  fardndula  is  next  to  the  company :  it  has  three 
women,  eight  to  ten  comedias,  two  chests  of  luggage.  The  players 
travel  on  mules  with  drivers  and  sometimes  in  carts ;  visit  the  more 
important  towns,  dine  separately  wear  good  clothes,  perform  at 
Corpus  festivals  for  200  ducats,  and  live  contentedly  (that  is,  those 
who  are  not  in  love).  ...  In  the  companies  there  is  every  kind  of 
grub  and  trumpery;  they  know  something  of  the  seamy  side  and- 
also  of  good  manners;  there  are  very  clever  people  among  them, 
men  much  esteemed  and  persons  well  born,  and  even  very  respect- 


154  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

able  women  (for  where  there  are  many  there  must  be  of  all  kinds). 
They  take  with  them  fifty  comedias,  three  hundred  quarters  of 
luggage,  sixteen  persons  who  act,  thirty  who  eat,  one  who  takes  the 
money  at  the  door  (and  God  knows  what  he  steals).  Some  want 
mules,  others  coaches,  some  litters,  others  palfreys,  and  none  there 
are  who  are  satisfied  with  a  cart,  because  they  say  that  they  have 
weak  stomachs.  Besides,  there  are  generally  many  vexations. 
Their  labor  is  excessive  because  of  the  great  amount  of  study,  the 
continuous  rehearsals,  and  the  varied  tastes  (though  of  this  Rios 
and  Ramirez  know  only  too  much),  so  that  it  is  better  to  pass  this 
in  silence,  for,  in  faith,  much  could  be  said  on  this  subject.^ 

Despite  the  trivial  details  and  the  absence  of  much  that 
would  have  been  most  desirable,  this  description  of  the 
various  bands  of  strolling  players  by  one  of  their  number 
is  so  important  that  it  could  not  be  omitted  here. 

The  traveling  of  theatrical  companies  at  this  time  was 
necessarily  slow.  We  have  just  seen  from  Rojas's  descrip- 
tion how  the  smaller  bands  of  actors  moved  from  place  to 
place.  The  larger  companies  traveled  with  a  little  more 
convenience,  still  this  was,  after  all,  one  of  the  greatest 
hardships  they  had  to  endure.  We  know  the  "strenuous 
life"  some  of  them  lead  in  our  own  day,  when  they  leave 
the  large  cities  and  make  "one-night  stands"  in  the  smaller 
towns,  while  the  "barn-storming  aggregations,"  which 
never  remain  more  than  a  day  or  two  in  one  place,  suffer 
even  greater  trials.  Yet  one  can  easily  imagine  how  much 
more  laborious  and  toilsome  must  have  been  the  life  of 
an  actor  at  this  time,  when  the  means  of  transportation 
were  so  primitive.  Journeys  which  now,  even  on  the 
Spanish  railways,  are  traversed  in  a  few  hours,  it  then  took 
as  many  days  to  accomplish. 

Thus,  in   1586,  Nicolas  de  los  Rios  and  Andres  de 

^  Viage  entretenido,  ed.  of  1603,  pp.  132-140.  Other  anecdotes  illustra- 
tive of  theatrical  life  in  Spain  may*e  found  in  Mateo  Aleman's  Guzman 
de  Alfarache,  Part  11,  Book  I,  chap,  ii  (cd.  of  Milan,  1615,  p.  17),  where 
a  story,  is  related  concerning  Cisneros  and  Manzanos,  two  well-known 
theatrical  managers ;  also  in  the  spurious  second  part  of  this  work  by  Mateo 


ON  THE  ROAD  155 

Vargas  contracted  to  have  their  company,  consisting  of 
thirteen  or  fourteen  persons  and  seventy  quarters  of  bag- 
gage, transported  from  Madrid  to  Seville  (a  distance  of 
about  270  miles)  in  thirteen  days,  at  the  rate  of  38  reals 
for  each  person  and  6  reals  for  each  quarter  of  baggage.* 

In  1 6 10  certain  carters  of  Illescas  contracted  with 
Alonso  Riquelme  to  carry  his  company  and  their  para- 
phernalia from  that  town  to  Aldea  Gallega  [near  Lisbon, 
a  distance  of  about  330  miles],  at  70  reals  for  each  person 
and  3  reals  for  each  quarter  of  baggage,  the  carters 
agreeing  to  be  in  the  said  village  within  twenty-two  days.^ 
The  costumes  and  properties  were  loaded  on  the  backs 
of  mules  or  upon  carts,  while  the  players  also  traveled  in 
carts,  or  the  larger  companies  in  coaches.  It  appears  from 
a  document  dated  161 3,  concerning  the  company  of  Anto- 
nio Granados,  that  a  distinction  was  made  between  the 
comediantes  and  the  danzantes,  the  former  being  carried 
In  coaches  and  the  latter  in  carts  (carros).^  Sometimes, 
in  the  case  of  distinguished  players,  another  form  of  con- 
veyance was  especially  stipulated,  as  in  1623,  when  the 
actor  Juan  Vazquez  and  Francisca  de  Torres,  his  wife,  are 
to  have  three  pack-animals  (tres  caballerias  iguales),  "for 
they  are  not  to  go  upon  the  laden  carts."  ^ 

How  very  expensive  traveling  was  in  these  early  days 
we  also  learn  from  an  agreement  made  in  1630  by  Fran- 
cisco Moreno  to  furnish  three  mules  (one  with  a  saddle) 
for  the  journey  which  Antonia  Manuela,  wife  of  the  autor 
de  comedias  Bartolome  Romero,  made  from  Madrid 
to  Seville,  paying  100  reals  for  each  mule  and  100  reals 
to  the  mule-driver.^  Sometimes,  when  a  small  town 
resolved  to  give  a  theatrical  performance  in  connection 
with  some  church  festival.  It  was  especially  stipulated  that, 

Lujan  de  Sayavedra,  Book  III,  chapters  vii  and  viii  {Bibl.  de  Autores 
Espanoles,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  418  ff.),  where  Guzman  joins  the  company  of 
Heredia. 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  17. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  120.  *  Ibid.,  p.  135.  *  Ibid.,  p.  193.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  219. 


156  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

in  addition  to  the  money,  certain  provisions  were  to  be 
furnished  to  the  actors,  as  when,  in  1593,  Gabriel  Nunez, 
autor  de  comedias,  agreed  to  go  to  Navalcarnero  (the 
little  village  where,  more  than  half  a  century  afterward, 
in  1649,  Philip  IV.  married  his  second  wife,  Mariana  of 
Austria)  with  his  company  to  perform  Lope  de  Vega's 
Los  Comendadores  and  two  other  comedias  for  300  reals, 
besides  24  cuartales  [==  6  fanegas  or  about  10  bushels]  of 
bread,  4  arrobas  [=12  gallons]  of  white  wine,  24 pounds 
of  veal  and  16  pounds  of  beef,  a  pig,  a  goose,  two  conies, 
and  a  hen,  besides  people  to  do  the  cooking,  and  free  lodg- 
ing.^ 

As  early,  at  least,  as  1602  some  companies  possessed 
such  an  extensive  wardrobe  that  a  particular  person 
was  charged  with  the  care  of  It;  with  arrangements  for 
traveling,  etc.  Thus  we  find  Agustin  Coronel,  an  actor, 
employed  by  Alonso  Riquelme,  autor  de  comedias,  In 
March,  1602,  to  work  in  the  company  of  the  latter, 
"taking  part  In  the  comedias  as  well  as  in  the  bayles,  and 
also  to  take  care  of  the  wardrobe  and  to  arrange  for  the 
pack-animals  and  the  traveling,"^  etc. 

Traveling  In  open  carts  In  Spain  in  summer  Is  not  a  very 
comfortable  method  of  transportation,  and  at  a  later  period 
we  find  covered  carts  especially  provided  for  the  players,  as 
when.  In  1633,  five  covered  carts  were  furnished  to 
the  company  of  Fernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas,  to  go  from 
Madrid  to  the  village  of  Parla.^  In  another  case  six  carts, 
four  of  them  covered,  board,  and  lodging  are  to  be  pro- 
vided for  the  company.^  Sometimes  a  whole  company 
traveled  on  mules,  as  In  1636,  when  Juan  Rodriguez,  an 
innkeeper,  and  Andres  de  Lobera,  who  hired  out  mules, 
agreed  to  furnish  to  Pedro  de  la  Rosa,  autor  de  comedias, 
thirty-three  mules,  with  six  drivers  and  a  litter   (for  the 

'  Perez  Pastor,   p.  37. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  68.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  233.  *  Ibid.,  p.  234. 


THE  STRENUOUS  LIFE  157 

autora  Catalina  de  Nicolas,  we  presume),  "to  take  the 
said  autor  and  his  company  to  the  city  of  Segovia,  the  said 
autor  paying  28  reals  for  each  mule,  including  the  drivers, 
and  50  reals  for  the  litter."  In  this  case  the  baggage  was 
transported  separately.^  Indeed,  Pedro  de  la  Rosa  seems 
to  have  furnished  especial  facilities  for  the  traveling  of  his 
company,  for  on  September  19,  1637,  ^^  provided  "a 
coach  with  five  mules  to  carry  eight  persons  of  his  com- 
pany from  Madrid  to  Valencia  for  660  reals."  ^  And  in 
1638  the  company  of  Luis  Lopez,  twenty  in  number,  were 
conveyed  in  three  "comfortable  carts"  {carros  bien  acomo- 
dados)  from  Guadalajara  to  Cuenca  for  28  reals  each.^ 
A  further  conception  of  the  expense  of  traveling  may  be 
formed  from  the  fact  that  Antonio  de  Rueda,  autor  de 
comedias,  in  1639  paid  850  reals  each  for  four  coaches  to 
take  his  company  from  Madrid  to  Granada.* 

Another  hardship  incident  to  the  profession  of  acting 
was  the  unusual  hour  at  which  a  performance  was  some- 
times required  to  be  given.  In  161 2  the  company  of 
Fernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas  was  to  take  part  in  the  Corpus 
festival  in  the  town  of  Esquivias,  and  the  agreement  was 
that  he  should  have  his  company  in  Esquivias  on  the  Tues- 
day following  Corpus  at  sunrise  {al  salir  del  sol)y  and  on 
that  day  he  was  to  represent  in  the  morning  the  same  autos 
that  he  had  performed  in  Madrid,  besides  a  comedia  in  the 
afternoon.^  And  in  16 13  Pedro  de  Valdes  was  to  have  his 
company  at  Leganes  on  June  1 1  at  six  o'clock  In  the  morn- 
ing, to  represent  two  autos  sacramentales  in  the  morning 
and  a  comedia  in  the  afternoon,  with  all  their  bayles  and 
entremeses.^  Again,  in  March,  1617,  Cristobal  de  Leon, 
autor  de  comedias,  agreed  to  represent  two  autos,  with 
their  entremeses,  at  the  Corpus  festival  in  Madrid,  on 
Thursday,  from  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  until  twelve 

^  Ibid.,  pp.  254-255.  *  Ibid.,  p.  276.  'Ibid.,  p.  301, 

*Ibid.,  p.  316.  'Ibid.,  p.  127.  *Ibid.,  p.  134. 


158  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

at  night,  and  on  Friday  from  six  in  tlie  morning  till  noon, 
in  such  places  as  may  be  designated,  for  600  ducats.  "And 
if  the  court  should  be  in  Madrid,  and  it  should  be  necessary 
to  give  more  performances  on  Saturday,  he  is  to  receive  the 
customary  gratuity."^  Indeed,  the  tribulations  of  the 
actor's  life  have  probably  not  been  overdrawn  in  the  ac- 
counts that  have  come  down  to  us.  Rojas,  who  was  for 
a  time  a  farandulero,  speaks  with  authority  upon  the  sub- 
ject, and  to  his  narrative  we  now  turn. 

^  Perez  Pastor,  pp,  i6i,  162. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

The  actors.  Their  hardships.  Alonso  de  Olmedo.  Juan  de 
Morales.  Roque  de  Figueroa.  Maria  de  Riquelme.  La  Cal- 
derona.  Adventures  of  actors  related  in  the  "Entertaining  Jour- 
ney." The  term  autor  de  comedias.  Relations  of  dramatist  and 
manager.  The  stealing  of  plays.  Honorarium  of  dramatists. 
Collaboration. 

While  some  conception  of  the  hardships  suffered  by  actors 
in  Spain  may  be  gained  from  what  has  been  said  in  the  pre- 
vious chapter,  we  must  turn  once  more  to  Agustin  de  Rojas 
for  such  a  graphic  description  of  the  actor's  trials  and  suf- 
ferings as  we  shall  look  for  in  vain  elsewhere.  Rojas 
speaks  from  experience,  and  let  us  hear  what  he  says  of 
the  life  of  his  fellow-players.  "There  is  no  negro  in  Spain 
or  slave  in  Algiers  but  has  a  better  life  than  the  actor.  A 
slave  works  all  day,  but  he  sleeps  at  night ;  he  has  only  one 
or  two  masters  to  please,  and  when  he  does  what  he  is  com- 
manded, he  fulfils  his  duty.  But  actors  are  up  at  dawn  and 
write  and  study  from  five  o'clock  till  nine,  and  from  nine 
till  twelve  they  are  constantly  rehearsing.  They  dine  and 
then  go  to  the  comedia;  leave  the  theater  at  seven,  and 
when  they  want  rest  they  are  called  by  the  President  of  the 
Council,  or  the  alcaldes,  whom  they  must  serve  whenever 
it  pleases  them.  I  wonder  how  it  is  possible  for  them  to 
study  all  their  lives  and  be  constantly  on  the  road,  for  there 

is  no  labor  that  can  equal  theirs."  \j   And  Cervantes,  who 

__.il 

*  "Porque  no  hay  negro  en  Espana,  El  esclauo  que  es  esclauo 

Ni  esclavo  en  Argel  se  vende  quiero  que  trabaje  siempre, 

Que  no  tenga  mejor  vida  por  la  manana  y  la  tarde, 

Que  un  farsante,  si  se  aduierte  pero  por  la  noche  duerme. 

»59 


i6o  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

doubtless  knew  them  well,  says  this  of  actors:]  "Also 
I  can  say  of  them  that  in  the  sweat  of  theirHSrows 
they  gain  their  bread  by  insupportable  toil,  learning  con- 
stantly by  heart,  leading  a  gipsy  life  perpetually  from  place 
to  place,  and  from  inn  to  tavern,  staying  awake  to  please 
others,  for  in  other  men's  pleasure  lies  their  profit;  they 
have,  besides,  the  merit  that  with  their  calling  they  deceive 
nobody,  for  continually  they  bring  out  their  wares  on  the 
public  square,  submitting  them  to  the  judgment  and  in- 
spection of  everybody.  The  toil  of  the  managers  is  incred- 
ible, and  their  anxiety  extraordinary,  and  they  need  to  gain 
much  in  order  not  to  find  themselves  at  the  end  of  the  year 
so  embarrassed  that  it  is  needful  for  them  to  call  a  meet- 
ing of  their  creditors."  ^^^ 

But  such  recitals  of  the  tribulations  of  the  profession 
never  did  and  never  will  deter  others  from  joining  their 
ranks.  In  all  ages  and  in  all  countries^  the  mimic  life  of 
the  stage  has  exercised  a  powerful  attraction.  And  though 
no  slave  in  Algiers,  as  Rojas  says,  had  a  harder  lot  than 
Spanish  actors,  their  ranks  were  ever  full,  for  generally 
they  were  a  careless  and  shiftless  lot,  who  took  the  days 
as  they  came,  with  little  thought  for  the  morrow.     They 

No  tiene  a  quien  contentar  Y  quando  han  de  descansar, 

sino  a  un  amo  6  dos  que  tiene,  los  llaman  al  Presidente, 

y  haziendo  lo  que  le  mandan  los  Oydores,  los  Alcaldes, 

ya  cumple  con  lo  que  deue.  los  Fiscales,  los  Regentes, 

Pero  estos  representantes  Y  a  todos  van  a  seruir 

antes  que  Dios  amanece,  a  qualquier  era  que  quieren, 

escriuiendo  y  estudiando,  que  es  esso  ayre,  yo  me  admiro 

desde  las  cinco  a  las  nueue.  como  es  possible  que  pueden 

Y  de  las  nueue  a  las  doze  Estudiar  toda  su  vida 

se  estan  ensayando  siempre,  y  andar  caminando  siempre, 

comen,  vanse  a  la  comedia,  pues  no  ay  trabajo  en  el  mundo 

y  salen  de  alii  a  las  siete.  que  puede  ygualarse  a  este.  .  .  ." 

{Viage  entretenido,  pp.  368,  369.) 

*£/  Licenciado  Vidriera,  in  Exemplary  Novels,  translated  by  Maccoll, 
Glasgow,  1902,  Vol.  I,  p.  191.  See  also  Cervantes's  comedia  Pedro  de 
Urdemalas,  Act  III,  for  a  description  of  the  qualifications  of  a  good  actor. 
(Oc/io  Comedias,  etc.,  Madrid,  1615,  fol.  217,  verso.) 

*  In  France  the  earliest  contract  with  a  professional  actor  that  has  been 
preserved  is  eloquent  testimony  to  the  wretched  condition  of  wandering 


ANOTHER  ENOCH  ARDEN  i6i 

were  mostly  drawn  from  the  common  people  and  were  \i 
notorious  for  their  loose  manner  of  living,  especially  the 
women.  To  this  statement,  however,  there  were  some 
notable  exceptions,  and  occasionally  we  find  a  hidalgo  or  a 
person  of  the  better  class  attracted  to  their  number  by  the 
glamour  of  the  stage.  Among  these  was  Alonso  de  Ol- 
medo,  afterward  a  distinguished  actor  and  autor  de  come- 
dias.  He  was  born  in  Talavera  de  la  Reina,  the  son  of 
the  mayordomo  of  the  Count  of  Oropesa,  and  served  the 
latter  as  a  page.  A  theatrical  company  visiting  his  native 
town  one  day,  he  fell  desperately  in  love  with  one  of  its 
members,  Luisa  de  Robles.  Olmedo  joined  the  company 
in  order  to  follow  his  adorada,  but  unfortunately  the  fair 
Luisa  was  married.  However,  fate  decreed  that  her  hus- 
band, Juan  de  la  Abadia,  should  embark  for  Velez  Malaga, 
when  the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed  was  attacked  by  Moors 
and  sunk,  and  the  captives  taken  to  Barbary.  Believing 
her  husband  dead,  and  presumably  having  no  use  for  a 
dead  husband,  Luisa  married  Olmedo.  Three  years  after- 
ward, much  to  the  surprise  of  both,  probably,  the  husband, 
like  another  Enoch  Arden,  suddenly  reappeared.  Olmedo, 
much  of  whose  former  enthusiasm  had  doubtless  cooled 
by  this  time — so  we  are  told — with  admirable  resignation 
said  to  Luisa :  "My  dear,  it  is  all  over  with  our  marriage ; 
you  take  half  of  my  wardrobe  for  your  first  husband,  and 
half  of  the  money  and  of  the  white  linen  for  yourself,  and 
good-by."    And,  as  Sr.  Sanchez-Arjona  tells  us,  to  console 

players  in  that  country.  It  antedates  by  a  number  of  years  the  earliest 
Spanish  document  of  a  similar  nature.  It  is  dated  1545,  and  has  already 
been  referred  to  (p.  138).  In  it  Marie  Ferre  (or  Fairet)  binds  herself  to 
perform  in  the  troupe  of  Anthoine  I'Espeyronnyere,  in  histories,  farces,  and 
somersaults,  "en  telle  maniere  que  chacun  qui  assistera  prendra  joyeusete 
et  recreation,  pour  gagner,  amasser  et  lever  deniers  des  personnes  qui 
vouldront  voir  joer  pour  et  au  proffict  dudict  de  I'Espeyronnyere,"  for 
which  she  is  to  receive,  besides  board  and  lodging,  twelve  livres  Tournois 
[a  very  small  sum],  and  if  any  one  during  the  engagement  should  give 
her  money  or  clothes,  then  "Gailharde,  wife  of  the  said  I'Espeyronnyere, 
shall  receive  one  half  thereof."  (Creizenach,  Geschichte  des  neueren  Dra- 
mas, Vol.  Ill,  p.  75.) 


1 62  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

himself  for  his  loss,  he  shortly  afterward  went  to  Zara- 
goza,  where  he  married  a  daughter  of  the  mayordomo  of 
the  Count  of  Sastago,  named  Jeronima  [de  Ornero],  by 
whom  he  had  six  children.^ 

Thus  runs  the  story.  Unfortunately,  however,  facts 
have  more  recently  come  to  light  which  cast  some  doubt 
upon  the  tale  as  just  related.  While  it  may  be  true  in  its 
main  incidents,  Luisa  was  certainly  not  the  siren  who  first 
lured  Olmedo  upon  the  stage.  In  a  petition  to  the  town 
council  of  Seville  in  1640,^  Olmedo  says  that  he  had 
served  the  King  at  the  Corpus  festivals  for  forty  years 
and  that  he  had  been  director  of  a  company  for  twenty- 
four  years.  This  would  place  the  beginning  of  his  theat- 
rical career  in  the  year  1600,  and  his  beginning  as  an 
autor  de  comedias  in  161 6.  What  we  know  of  Luisa  de 
Robles  is  briefly  this:  in  June,  161 8,  she  is  described  as  the 
widow  of  Juan  Labadia;^  in  September,  1623,  she  is 
called  a  single  woman  over  twenty-five  years  old,  and 
then  belonged  to  Manuel  Vallejo's  company;*  in  1624 
she  was  in  Antonio  de  Prado's  company  in  Madrid,  and 
in  1627  she  and  her  husband,  Juan  de  Labadia,*^  were  in 
Manuel  Simon's  company  in  Seville.  As  Olmedo's  wife 
Jeronima  de  Ornero  and  his  daughter  Maria  were  act- 
ing in  his  company  in  1635,  he  playing  old  men's  parts 
in  his  own  company,^  the  episode  related  above  must  have 
taken  place  about  161 8  or  somewhat  earlier.  At  this 
time,  however,  as  we  have  seen,  Olmedo  had  been  upon  the 
stage  many  years.  Alonso  de  Olmedo  was  an  hidalgo,  and 
by  a  special  decree  of  Philip  IV.,  dated  May  20,  1647,  ^^^ 
the  privileges  of  his  rank  were  preserved  to  him,  "although 
he  had  been  an  autor  de  comedias."    He  died  in  1 65 1 . 

In  1630  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano,  one  of  the  best- 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales  del  Teairo  en  Sevilla,  p.  223. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  224. 

^  Nue'vos  Datos,  p.  167.  *  Ibid.,  p.  201. 

*The  name  is  spelled  in  various  ways;  I  have  given  it  in  each  instance 
as  I  found  it.  *  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  297. 


MARIA  DE  RIQUELME  163 

known  actors  and  theatrical  directors  of  his  time,  was  sued 
for  a  debt  of  1400  ducats,  the  balance  of  the  purchase- 
money  of  a  house  in  the  Calle  del  Prado,  as  well  as  for  the 
cost  of  improvements  made  on  the  said  house.  On  notifi- 
cation to  pay  the  debt  under  threat,  of  arrest,  he  replied  by 
claiming  the  privilege  of  hidalguia,  having  received  a 
patent  of  nobility  from  the  chancellery  of  Valladolid,  by 
virtue  of  which  "his  person  could  not  be  taken  for  any 
debt  unless  it  resulted  from  a  crime,  nor  could  his  clothing 
or  that  of  his  wife,  nor  his  arms  or  his  horses,  be  attached, 
nor  the  other  things  which  are  reserved  to  hijosdalgo."  ^ 

Roque  de  Figueroa  was  also  a  celebrated  actor  who  had 
received  a  very  careful  education,  and  the  story  is  related 
of  him  that  on  one  occasion  when  a  festival  was  to  take 
place  in  the  parish  of  San  Sebastian  in  Madrid,  an  accident 
having  happened  to  the  preacher,  Roque  de  Figueroa  took 
off  his  sword,  ascended  the  pulpit,  and  delivered  an  oration 
in  Latin,  much  to  the  surprise  of  all  present.^ 

Among  actresses  the  famous  Maria  de  Riquelme  was 
no  less  noted  for  her  beauty  than  for  her  virtuous  and  ex- 
emplary life.  She  was  the  wife  of  the  autor  de  comedias 
Manuel  Vallejo,  upon  whose  death,  in  1644,  she  aban- 
doned the  stage  and  devoted  herself  to  religion,  dying  in 
Barcelona  in  1656.* 

Quite  different  had  been  the  life  of  the  celebrated  Maria 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  239. 

*  Sanchez- Arjona,  Anales,  p.  254. 

*  Maria  de  Riquelme  was  the  second  wife  of  Manuel  Vallejo,  and  must 
have  married  him  after  November  21,  1627,  for  on  that  date  Francisca 
Maria,  Vallejo's  first  wife,  died.  (See  Bulletin  Hispanique  (1908),  p. 
255.)  In  April,  1631,  Maria  de  Riquelme  was  in  Vallejo's  company  and 
is  called  his  wife.  (Cotarelo,  Tirso,  p.  220.)  She  appeared  as  Casandra 
in  Lope  de  Vega's  El  Castigo  sin  Venganza  as  it  was  performed  before  the 
King  on  February  3,  1632,  by  the  company  of  Manuel  Vallejo,  who  played 
the  part  of  the  Duke  of  Ferrara.  (See  my  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  Glas- 
gow, 1904,  pp.  340,  n.,  et  passim.)  In  a  letter  dated  September  4,  1633, 
Lope  de  Vega  says  of  her:  "She  is  extraordinary  in  depicting  passion  in  a 
way  that  imitates  nobody,  nor  can  any  one  be  found  to  imitate  her."  {Ibid., 
p.  350.)  Caramuel  says  of  her:  "era  tan  impresionable  por  naturaleza, 
que,  con  asombio  de  todos,  mudaba  representando  el  color  de  su  rostro,  de- 


1 64  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Calderon,  though  it  ended  also  in  religious  devotion.  La 
Calderona,  as  she  was  called,  was  one  of  the  many  favor- 
ites of  Philip  the  Fourth  and  the  mother  of  his  son  Don 
John  of  Austria,  born  April  17,  1629.  After  a  far  from 
exemplary  life  she  professed  in  the  convent  of  Villaher- 
moso,  in  the  province  of  Guadalajara,  where,  "esteemed 
by  the  whole  community,  she  was  made  abbess,  and  re- 
penting of  her  past  errors,  there  are  those  who  declare 
she  died  in  the  odor  of  sanctity."* 

The  Spanish  stage  of  this  period,  it  is  to  be  feared,  could 
boast  of  few  such  exemplars  of  womanly  virtue  as  Maria  de 
Riquelme.  But  it  would  be  most  uncharitable  to  condemn 
all  actresses  on  the  evidence  that  we  have  concerning  some 
of  them.  Still,  in  all  probability,  such  incidents  as  the  one 
related  in  a  previous  chapter  concerning  Jacinta  Herbias 
and  Ana  de  Espinosa  were  not  rare.  Indeed,  as  we  shall 
see,  the  conditions  of  the  Spanish  stage,  the  publicity  of 
the  green-rooms,  etc.,  rendered  it  almost  impossible  for  a 
decent  woman  to  remain  upon  the  boards.  Actors  were 
mostly  a  shiftless  lot  recruited  from  the  understrata  of 
society,  of  whose  free  and  easy  lives  we  get  many  a  glimpse 
in  the  work  of  Rojas,  already  cited.  They  were  much 
addicted  to  gambling,  and  the  following  narrative,  related 

mostrando  sus  facciones  la  alegria,  si  su  papel  lo  demandaba,  6  la  tristeza 
mas  profunda  en  los  pasos  pateticos,  y  figurando  los  afectos  mis  opuestos 
en  sus  mas  rapidas  transiciones  de  tal  modo  que  era  inimitable  y  unica  en 
este  genero  de  mimica."  (Quoted  by  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  318.)  It 
may  be  added  that  Maria  de  Riquelme's  name  does  not  occur  among  the 
players  of  Vallejo's  company  in  1643,  when  he  represented  autos  in  Seville. 
{Ibid.,  p.  366.) 

^  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  286.  See  also  an  excellent  work,  Hume, 
The  Court  of  Philip  IV.,  London,  1907,  who  characterizes  Philip  as: 
"Weak  of  will,  tender  of  conscience,  sensitive  of  soul.  A  rake  without 
conviction,  a  voluptuary  who  sought  sensuous  pleasures  from  vicious  habit 
long  after  they  had  ceased  to  be  pleasures  to  him,  and  yet  expiated  them 
with  agonies  of  remorse  which  made  his  soul  a  raging  hell"  (p.  171). 
Hume  says:  "It  was  in  the  Corral  de  la  Cruz  in  1627  that  Philip  first  set 
eyes  upon  the  girl  whom  one  of  Olivares's  agents  had  sent  from  the  coun- 
try to  act  upon  the  Madrid  stage.  Her  name  was  Maria  Calderon,  and  at 
the  time  she  appeared  in  the  capital  she  was  not  more  than  sixteen  years 
of   age.     She  was  no  great  beauty,  but  her  grace   and  fascination  were 


GAMBLING  IN  THE  GREEN-ROOM      165 

by  the  actor  Ramirez,  occurs  in  the  Viage  entretenido 
(p.  141)  :  "I  recall  a  witty  story  which  happened  about 
four  years  ago  to  Alcaraz  [a  theatrical  manager  J  concern- 
ing one  of  Cisneros's  musicians,  who,  gambling  with  an- 
other actor  in  the  green-room  (vestuario),  lost  even  the 
clothes  on  his  back,  so  that  he  was  left  with  nothing  but 
his  linen  breeches.  His  turn  came  to  sing  in  the  third  act. 
Snatching  up  quickly  a  cloak  which  did  not  belong  to  him 
and  wrapping  it  about  him  under  his  arms,  he  sallied  forth 
upon  the  stage  with  the  greatest  unconcern.  Alcaraz, 
observing  this  shameless  effrontery,  determined  that  it 
should  not  go  unpunished,  and,  taking  a  pin,  fastened  the 
cloak  up  as  high  as  he  could.  The  player,  ignorant  of 
what  had  happened,  began  to  sing  in  this  fashion,  while 
the  audience  shouted.  Nor  did  he  learn  the  cause  of  the 
merriment  until,  withdrawing  quite  ashamed,  he  became 
aware  of  the  joke  that  had  been  played  upon  him  when  he 
saw  his  whole  shirt  hanging  out."  Rios  also  tells  the 
story  of  a  companion  of  his  in  Antequera,  who,  one  night, 
had  lost  everything  he  had,  so  that  he  was  obliged  to 
remain  in  bed  until  a  suit  of  clothes  was  sent  him  with 
which  to  go  to  the  theater,  and  that  night  he  had  to  go 
home  again  and  remain  in  bed.^ 

supreme,  and  her  voice  was  so  sweet  and  her  speech  so  captivating  that 
Madrid  fell  in  love  with  her  at  once."  {Ibid.,  p.  208.)  La  Calderona  did 
not,  however,  retire  from  the  stage  on  the  birth  of  her  son  Don  John  of 
Austria.  What  we  know  of  her  stage  life  is  this:  In  March,  1623,  she  was 
the  wife  of  Pablo  Sarmiento  and  both  were  acting  in  the  company  of  Juan 
Bautista  Valenciano.  {Bull.  Hispanique  (1908),  p.  248.)  In  1624  she 
appeared  in  Lope  de  Vega's  El  Poder  en  el  Discreto,  and  in  1626  she 
played  the  part  of  Fenis  in  Lope's  Amor  con  'vista.  When  she  was  again 
married  we  do  not  know,  but  in  1632  her  husband  was  Tomas  de  Rojas, 
and  in  this  year  she  received  1050  reals  for  acting  in  two  comedias  and  two 
autos  in  the  village  of  Pinto,  besides  transportation  for  herself,  her  husband 
and  maid,  lodging  and  eight  reals  maintenance  for  every  day  she  was  on 
the  journey.  (Perez  Pastor,  Nue<vos  Datos,  p.  226.)  She  took  part  in  the 
Corpus  festival  of  the  same  year  at  Seville,  leaving  the  company  of  Juan 
Jeronimo  Valenciano,  of  which  she  was  then  a  member,  for  this  purpose. 
(Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  285.)  We  do  not  know  when  Lhe  retired 
from  the  stage. 
^  Viage  entretenido,  p.  143. 


i^ 


1 66  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

A  number  of  ludicrous  adventures  of  actors  are  related 
by  the  same  author,  of  which  one  may  find  a  place  here : 

We  left  Valencia  on  account  of  a  misfortune  that  befell  us — 
Solano  and  I — one  on  foot  and  without  a  cloak,  and  the  other  walk- 
ing and  with  only  his  doublet.  We  gave  them  to  a  boy  who  got 
lost  in  the  town,  and  we  were  left  gentlemen  of  the  road.  At  night 
we  arrived  at  a  village,  worn  out  and  with  only  eight  quartos  be- 
tween us.  Without  supper  {sin  las  assaduras) ,  we  went  to  an  inn 
to  ask  for  lodging,  but  they  told  us  that  they  could  not  provide  for 
us,  nor  could  a  lodging  be  found  anywhere,  because  a  fair  was  being 
held.  Seeing  the  little  chance  there  was  of  our  finding  a  lodging, 
I  resorted  to  a  stratagem.  I  went  to  another  inn  and  represented 
myself  as  a  West  Indian  merchant  (for  you  see  I  resemble  one  in 
the  face).  The  hostess  asked  whether  we  had  any  pack-animals. 
I  replied  that  we  came  in  a  cart  and  that,  while  it  was  coming  with 
our  goods,  she  should  prepare  two  beds  for  us  and  some  supper. 
She  did  so,  and  I  went  to  the  alcalde  of  the  village  and  told  him 
that  a  company  of  players  had  arrived,  on  their  v/ay  through,  and 
asked  his  permission  to  give  a  play.  He  inquired  whether  it  was  a 
religious  play,  to  which  I  answered  in  the  affirmative.  Permission 
being  granted,  I  returned  to  the  inn  and  advised  Solano  to  re- 
view the  auto  of  "Cain  and  Abel,"  and  then  go  to  a  certain 
place  to  collect  the  money,  for  we  were  going  to  play  that  eve- 
ning. Meanwhile  I  went  to  hunt  up  a  drum,  made  a  beard  out 
of  a  piece  of  sheepskin,  and  went  through  the  whole  village  pro- 
claiming our  comedia.  As  there  were  many  people  in  the  place, 
we  had  a  large  audience.  This  done,  I  put  by  the  drum,  took  off 
my  beard,  returned  to  the  hostess,  and  told  her  that  my  goods 
were  coming  and  asked  her  for  the  key  of  my  room,  as  I  wanted 
to  lock  them  up.  To  her  question  what  they  were,  I  replied 
spices  (especeria).  She  gave  me  the  key,  and  hastening  to  the 
room,  I  stripped  the  sheets  from  the  bed,  took  down  some  old 
gilt  leather  hangings  and  two  or  three  old  cloths,  and  in  order  that 
she  might  not  see  me  descend  the  stairs,  I  made  up  a  bundle,  threw 
it  out  of  the  window,  and  came  down  the  stair  like  a  flash.  As  I 
reached  the  yard,  the  host  called  me  and  said :  "Mr.  Indian,  do  you 
want  to  see  a  comedia  by  some  strolling  players  who  arrived  a  short 
time  ago?    It  is  a  very  good  one."    I  answered,  "Yes,"  and  hurried 


CAIN  AND  ABEL  167 

out  to  hunt  up  the  bundle  of  clothes  with  which  we  were  to  play 
the  farce,  anxious  lest  the  host  should  see  it ;  but,  though  I  searched 
everywhere,  I  could  not  find  it.  Seeing  the  misfortune  which  faced 
me,  and  that  my  back  might  suffer  for  it,  I  ran  to  the  place 
(hermita)  where  Solano  was  busy  taking  the  money  and  told  him 
what  had  happened.  He  stopped  "gathering,"  and  we  left  with 
what  he  had  collected.  Consider  now  the  plight  of  all  these  people ! 
Some  without  merchants  or  bedclothes,  the  others  deceived  and 
without  a  comedia!  That  night  we  traveled  but  little  and  that  on 
the  by-paths.  In  the  morning  we  took  account  of  our  finances  and 
found  we  had  three  and  a  half  reals,  all  in  small  coppers.  As  you 
see,  we  were  now  rich,  but  not  a  little  timid,  when,  about  a  league 
off,  we  discovered  a  hut,  and,  arriving  there,  we  were  received  with 
wine  in  a  gourd,  milk  in  a  trough,  and  bread  in  a  saddle-bag.  We 
breakfasted  and  left  that  night  for  another  town,  where  we  directly 
took  steps  to  get  something  to  eat.  I  requested  permission  [to  per- 
form] ,  sought  out  two  bed-sheets,  proclaimed  the  eclogue  through  the 
streets,  procured  a  guitar,  invited  the  hostess,  and  told  Solano  to  col- 
lect the  money.  Finally,  the  house  being  full,  I  came  out  to  sing  the 
ballad,  Afuera,  afuera,  aparta,  aparta.^  Having  finished  a  couplet, 
I  could  go  no  further,  and  the  audience  gazed  in  astonishment. 
Then  Solano  began  a  loa  with  which  he  made  some  amends  for  the 
lack  of  music.  I  wrapped  one  of  the  sheets  about  me  and  began 
my  part,  but  when  Solano  appeared  as  God  the  Father,  with  a 
candle  in  his  hand  and  likewise  enveloped  in  a  sheet,  open  in  the 
middle,  and  besmeared  all  around  his  beard  with  grape-skins,  I 
thought  I  should  die  for  laughter,  while  the  poor  public  {vulgo) 
wondered  what  had  happened  to  him.  This  being  over,  I  appeared 
as  a  fool  and  recited  my  entremes,  then  continued  with  the  auto, 
and  the  point  arrived  when  I  was  to  kill  the  unhappy  Abel ;  but  I 
had  forgotten  the  knife  with  which  I  was  to  cut  his  throat,  so,  tear- 
ing off  my  false  beard,  I  cut  his  throat  with  it.  Hereupon  the  mob 
arose  and  shouted.  I  begged  them  to  pardon  our  shortcomings,  as 
the  company  had  not  yet  arrived.  At  last,  with  all  the  people  in 
an  uproar,  the  host  came  in  and  told  us  that  we  had  better  get  out, 
and  thus  avoid  a  sound  drubbing.  Upon  this  good  advice  we  put 
distance  between  us,  and  that  same  night  we  left  with  more  than 

*A  Moorish  ballad   printed   in  the  Romancero   General,  Madrid,    1604, 
fol.  25. 


1 68  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

five  reals  which  we  had  taken  in.  After  we  had  spent  this  money 
and  had  sold  what  few  effects  we  had,  eating  often  only  the  fungi 
which  we  gathered  on  the  road,  sleeping  on  the  ground,  walking 
barefoot  (not  on  account  of  the  mud,  but  because  we  had  no  shoes), 
helping  the  mule-drivers  to  load  their  animals  or  fetching  water  for 
them,  and  living  more  than  four  days  on  turnips,  we  arrived  timidly 
one  night  at  an  inn,  where  four  drivers,  who  were  stopping  for  the 
night,  gave  us  twenty  maravedis  and  a  blood-pudding  (morcilla)  to 
play  a  comedia  for  them.  After  this  hardship  and  misery  we  reached 
the  end  of  our  journey,  Solano  in  doublet,  without  ropilla^  (which 
he  had  pawned  at  a  tavern),  and  I  bare-legged  and  shirtless)  with 
a  large  straw  hat  full  of  air-holes,  dirty  linen  breeches,  and  jacket 
torn  and  threadbare.  Thus  ragged,  I  determined  to  enter  the 
service  of  a  pastry-cook,  but  Solano  being  a  shrewd  fellow,  did  not 
take  to  any  work,  and  this  was  the  state  of  things  when,  one  day, 
we  heard  a  drum  beat  and  a  boy  announced  the  excellent  comedia 
Los  A  miff  OS  trocados,  to  be  performed  that  night  in  the  town 
hall.  When  I  heard  this  my  eyes  began  to  open.  We  spoke 
to  the  boy,  and,  recognizing  us,  he  dropped  the  drum  and  began 
to  dance  for  joy.  We  asked  him  whether  he  had  any  small 
coin  about  him,  and  he  took  out  what  he  had,  which  was  tied  up 
in  the  end  of  his  shirt.  We  bought  some  bread  and  cheese  and  a 
slice  of  codfish,  and  after  our  repast  he  took  us  to  the  autor 
(who  was  Martinazos).  I  don't  know  whether  it  grieved  him  to 
see  us  so  ragged,  but  finally  he  embraced  us,  and  after  we  had 
related  all  our  hardships  to  him,  we  dined,  and  he  bade  us  rid 
ourselves  of  our  fleas,  so  that  they  might  not  cling  to  the  costumes, 
for  we  were  to  act  in  the  comedia.  That  night,  in  fact,  we  took 
part,  and  the  next  day  he  made  an  agreement  with  us  to  act  in  his 
company,  each  one  to  receive  three  quartillos  [=  three  fourths 
of  a  real]  for  each  representation.  He  now  gave  me  a  part  to 
study  in  the  comedia  "The  Resurrection  of  Lazarus,"  and  to  Solano 
the  role  of  the  resurrected  saint.  Every  time  the  comedia  was 
played  the  autor  took  off  a  garment  in  the  dressing-room  and  loaned 
it  to  Solano,  charging  him  especially  to  let  no  fleas  get  into  it. 
When  the  play  was  ended  he  returned  to  the  dressing-room,  took 
off  the  costume,  and  donned  his  old  clothes.    To  me  he  gave  stock- 

'  A  close-fitting  unbuttoned  tunic  reaching  to  the  thighs,  with  open  sleeves 
hanging  from  the  shoulder.     (Hume,  Philip  IV.,  p.  447.) 


ARISE,  LAZARUS!  169 

Ings,  shoes,  a  hat  with  plumes,  and  a  long  silk  coat  (sayo),  beneath 
which  I  wore  my  linen  breeches  (which  had  been  washed  in  the 
meanwhile),  and  thus,  as  I  am  such  a  handsome  fellow,  I  came  on 
the  stage  like  a  gewgaw  {brinquino)  with  my  broad  beaming  face. 
We  continued  this  happy  life  for  more  than  four  weeks,  eating 
little,  traveling  much,  with  the  theatrical  baggage  on  our  backs,  and 
without  ever  making  the  acquaintance  of  a  bed.  Going  in  this  way 
from  one  village  to  another,  it  happened  to  rain  a  good  deal  one 
night,  so,  on  the  next  day,  the  director  told  us— as  it  was  only 
a  short  league  to  where  we  were  going — to  make  a  litter  of 
our  hands  and  carry  his  wife,  while  he  and  the  other  two  men 
would  carry  the  baggage  of  the  company,  the  boy  taking  the 
drum  and  the  other  odds  and  ends.  The  woman  being  quite 
satisfied,  we  made  a  litter  with  our  hands,  and  she  wearing 
a  beard, ^  we  began  our  journey.  In  this  way  we  reached  our 
destination,  completely  worn  out,  foot-sore  and  covered  with  mud ; 
indeed,  we  were  half  dead,  for  we  were  serving  as  pack-mules. 
Arrived  in  the  village,  the  director  immediately  requested  permis- 
sion to  play,  and  we  acted  the  farce  of  "Lazarus."  My  friend  and 
I  put  on  our  borrowed  clothes,  but  when  we  arrived  at  the  passage 
concerning  the  sepulcher,  the  director,  who  took  the  part  of  Christ, 
said  several  times  to  Lazarus,  "Arise,  Lazarus!  surge!  surge!"  and 
seeing  that  he  did  not  arise,  he  approached  the  sepulcher,  believing 
that  he  had  fallen  asleep.  He  found,  however,  that  Lazarus  had 
arisen,  body  and  soul,  without  leaving  a  trace  of  the  clothes  behind. 
Not  finding  the  saint,  the  people  were  aroused,  and  it  seeming  that 
a  miracle  had  taken  place,  the  director  was  much  astonished. 
Seeing  the  fix  we  were  in,  and  that  Solano  had  left  without  in- 
forming me,  I  took  the  road  to  Zaragoza,  without,  however,  finding 
any  trace  of  Solano,  nor  the  director  of  his  clothes,  nor  the  specta- 
tors of  Lazarus,  who,  they  doubtless  thought,  had  ascended  to 
heaven.    I  then  joined  a  good  company  and  gave  up  that  toilsome  life.- 

As  already  observed,  the  earliest  theatrical  managers  in 
Spain  also  frequently  wrote  the  pieces  played  by  their  com- 
panies, hence  the  name  autor,  which  was  originally  applied 

^Rojas  explains  that  a  beard  and  sometimes  a  small  mask  was  worn  as 
a  protection  to  the  complexion. 
'  Viage  entretenido,  Madrid,  1603,  pp.  91-101. 


I70  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

to  them  and  which  afterward  merely  designated  the  chief 
or  director  of  a  company,  whether  he  wrote  plays  or  not. 
A  manager  who  could  not  write  comedias  for  his  company 
naturally  cast  about  him  for  some  one  who  could  provide 
them,  and  hence  at  an  early  period  we  find  men  traveling 
with  companies  of  players  whose  office  it  was  to  furnish 
comedias.  In  France  at  this  time  we  find  Alexandre 
Hardy,  and  in  England  many  playwrights  wrote  for  Hens- 
lowe's  and  other  companies.  Sometimes  these  dramatists 
were  also  professional  actors;  but  of  this  class  Spain  has 
no  names  among  its  actor-authors  that  will  even  remotely 
compare  with  Shakespeare  or  Moliere.^  Its  greatest 
dramatists  were  churchmen,  not  players.  Indeed,  among 
the  great  Spanish  dramatic  authors  only  one,  Alarcon,  was 
not  a  member  of  the  priesthood.  Of  actors  who  were  also 
playwrights  the  best-known  names  in  Spain  are  Lope  de 
Rueda,  Juan  de  Villegas,  and  Andres  de  Claramonte.^ 
In  1589,  when  Lope  de  Vega  had  been  writing  for  the 
public  stage  at  least  three  or  four  years,  we  find  Alonso  del 
Castillo,  an  actor,  making  an  agreement  with  Caspar  de 
Porres,  a  theatrical  manager,  to  work  in  the  company  of 
the  latter  from  December  i,  1589,  till  Shrovetide  of  1591, 
"and  the  said  Alonso  del  Castillo  is  to  furnish  to  the  said 
Caspar  de  Porres  nine  comedias  composed  by  him,  and 
amongst  them  he  is  to  give  him  the  comedia  Las  Escuelas 

*  "Son  nom  de  theatre  [MoHere]  parait  pour  la  premiere  fois  dans  I'actc 
du  28  Juin,  1644,  par  lequel  Daniel  Mallet,  danseur  de  Rouen,  s'engage 
a  servir  la  troupe  'tant  en  comedie  que  ballets,'"  etc.  (Soulie,  Recherches 
sur  Moliere,  Paris,  1863,  p.  38.)  It  is  possible  that  Moliere  may  have  seen 
the  performances  of  the  company  of  Spanish  players  headed  by  Pedro  de  la 
Rosa,  which  made  a  tour  through  France  in  1643,  and  which  visited  Paris 
in  that  year.  (Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  329.)  Rosa  again  returned  to 
Paris  in  1674.  Sebastian  de  Prado  was  also  in  the  French  capital  with  his 
company  in  1660,  on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  Louis  XIV.  to  Maria 
Teresa,  daughter  of  Philip  IV.  {Ibid.,  p.  342.)  Moliere  certainly  saw 
the  latter  company,  for  in  the  Registre  de  La  Grange,  p.  22,  after 
"Diraanche  ii""*  Juillet,  1660,"  we  read:  "II  vint  en  ces  tems  vne  Troupe 
de  Comediens  Espagnolz  qui  joua  3  fois  a  Bourbon:  vne  fois  a  demye  pist, 
la  seconde  fois  a  vn  escu,  ct  la  3'ne  fois  fist  vn  four." 

*  Alonso  de  la  Vega,  a  contemporary  of  Lope  de  Rueda,  and  also  an 


ALONSO  DEL  CASTILLO  171 

de  Athenas,  which  he  is  now  writing,  and  he  is  to  give  them 
to  no  other  person,  until  the  four  years  be  past  which  begin 
with  Shrovetide  of  1591.  He  is  to  receive  five  and  a  half 
reals  for  acting  and  maintenance  every  day  that  he  may  be 
in  the  company  before  he  has  delivered  the  said  comedia. 
On  account  of  the  said  comedias  and  representations  Gas- 
par  de  Porres  will  give  him  food  and  drink  and  clean  linen 
or  two  and  a  half  reals  per  day,  and  is  to  furnish  him 
transportation  and  besides  3200  reals,"  paying  200  reals 
on  account  in  cash.^ 

This  remuneration  for  acting  was  by  no  means  liberal. 
Castillo  could  certainly  not  live  extravagantly  even  in  those 
days  on  two  and  a  half  reals  per  day,  the  usual  smallest 
allowance  being  three  reals,  and  when  we  consider  that 
Solano,  an  actor,  in  1595  received  3000  reals  per  year,  it  is 
likely  that  Castillo's  histrionic  ability  was  not  of  a  very 
high  order.  Unfortunately,  we  are  unable  to  judge  of  his 
merits  as  a  playwright,  as  neither  his  Escuelas  de  Athenas 
nor  any  other  play  of  his  has  survived,  so  far  as  I  know. 
On  the  other  hand,  3200  reals  for  nine  comedias  by  an 
author  of  no  more  reputation  than  Castillo  was  rather 
liberal,  when  we  remember  that  Lope  de  Vega,  some  years 
after  this,  received  only  500  reals  for  a  comedia. 

It  is  probable  that  the  more  important  theatrical  com- 
panies always  contained  some  one  capable  of  patching 
up  or  remodeling  a  play  to  suit  the  exigencies  of  the 
occasion,  and  while  but  few  cases  are  cited  of  Spanish 

actor,  was  the  author  of  three  plays,  which  were  first  published  at  Valencia 
in  1566.  On  the  title-page  he  is  called  "illustre  poeta  y  gracioso  represen- 
tante."  He  was  a  Sevillan  by  birth  and  took  part  in  the  Corpus  festival 
in  that  city  in  1560.  His  plays  have  been  republished  by  Sr.  Menendez  y 
Pelayo,  Dresden,  1905.  Andres  de  la  Vega,  a  well-known  autor  de  come- 
dias more  than  half  a  century  later,  was  the  author  of  a  comedia  entitled 
San  Carlos,  a  manuscript  of  which,  dated  at  Madrid,  March  21,  1642,  is 
now  in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional.  (Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo  de  Comedias 
manuscritas,  No.  3010.) 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  25.  Lope  de  Vega  had  written  a  num- 
ber of  comedias  for  Caspar  de  Porres  prior  to  this  time.  See  my  Life  of 
Lope  de  Vega,  p.  38. 


172  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

actors  who  could  also  perform  this  function,  we  learn  that 
Pedro  de  Pernia,  an  actor  in  the  company  of  Roque  de 
Figueroa,  could,  in  case  of  accident,  furnish  twelve  to 
sixteen  columns  on  short  notice.^ 

As  regards  the  relations  between  the  dramatists  and  the 
managers  of  companies,  it  depended  entirely  upon  whether 
the  author  was  one  of  the  well-known  and  recognized  play- 
wrights or  whether  he  was  an  obscure  poet  struggling  for 
recognition.  In  the  former  case  there  was  frequently  great 
rivalry  among  the  autores  de  comedias  to  secure  the  latest 
plays.  Lope  de  Vega,  because  of  some  real  or  fancied 
affront,  had  at  one  time  ( 1614)  refused  to  write  any  come- 
dias for  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas,  one  of  the  best-known 
actors  and  autores  of  the  time,  while  he  greatly  favored 
Alonso  de  Riquelme,  whom  he  then  provided  with  come- 
dias. Sanchez  even  appealed  to  Lope's  patron,  the  Duke 
of  Sessa,  to  aid  him  in  conciliating  Lope,  while  the  latter 
persisted  in  his  refusal,  alleging  that  Sanchez  had  all  the 
poets  of  Andalusia,  including  Luis  Velez  de  Guevara,  to 
write  for  him,  while  no  poet  would  furnish  comedias  to 
Riquelme,  on  account  of  the  latter's  friendship  for  Lope.^ 
On  the  other  hand,  the  nascent,  struggling  poet  was  fre- 
quently treated  with  great  severity  by  the  actors  and  was 
often  subjected  to  the  greatest  indignities  by  both  managers 
and  players.  Cervantes,  who  knew  the  theater  well  and 
who  would  doubtless  have  preferred  to  be  one  of  the 
playwrights  idolized  by  the  mob,  than  be  the  author  of 

*  In  an  entr ernes  written  by  Quifiones  de  Benavente  and  performed  in 
Madrid  by  the  company  of  Figueroa  in  1628   (  ?),  we  read: 

''{Sale  Pernio.) 
iNo  es  Pernia  este  que  sale, 
Que  representa,  que  bayla, 
Que  hace  versos,  que  remedia, 
Si  sucede  una  desgracia, 
Doce  6  diez  y  seis  colunas 
De  la  noche  a  la  mafiana?" 
{Entremeses,  ed.  Rosell,  Madrid,  1872,  Vol.  I,  p.  167.) 
See  also  the  story  related  by  Quevedo,  Vida  del  gran  Tacaho,  cap.  xxH. 
'Rennrrt,  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  Glasgow,  1904,  p.  222. 


THE  COLLOQUY  OF  THE  DOGS        173 

Don  Quixote,  tells  a  story  of  one  of  these  poetasters  in  the 
Coloquiode  los  P^rroj  .'"Gradually  we  arrived  at  the  house 
of  a  manager  of  plays,  who,  as  far  as  I  recollect,  was  called 
Angulo  the  Bad,  to  distinguish  him  from  another  Angulo, 
not  a  manager  but  an  actor,  the  best  comedian  that  plays 
then  had  and  now  have.  All  the  company  was  assembled 
to  hear  the  play  of  my  master,  .  .  .  and,  in  the  middle  of 
the  first  act,  one  by  one  and  two  by  two  they  all  went  out 
and  departed,  except  the  manager  and  me,  who  served  for 
listeners.  The  play  was  such  that,  although  I  was  an  ass 
in  the  matter  of  poetry,  it  seemed  to  me  that  Satan  himself 
had  composed  it  for  the  total  ruin  of  the  said  poet,  who 
was  already  beginning  to  feel  uneasy  as  he  saw  the  solitude 
in  which  his  audience  had  left  him,  and  it  was  no  wonder 
that  his  prophetic  soul  told  him  within  of  the  calamity  that 
was  threatening  him,  which  was  the  return  of  all  the  actors, 
who  were  more  than  twelve,  and  who,  without  uttering  a 
word,  laid  hold  of  my  poet;  and  if  it  had  not  been  that 
the  authority  of  the  manager,  full  of  entreaties  and  pro- 
tests, interfered,  without  doubt  they  would  have  blanketed 
him.  I  was  in  consternation  at  the  result,  the  manager  dis- 
gusted, the  players  cheerful,  and  the  poet  fretful.  With 
much  patience,  although  his  face  was  somewhat  contorted, 
he  took  his  play  and  put  it  in  his  bosom,  while,  muttering, 
he  remarked,  'It  is  not  good  to  cast  pearls  before  swine,' 
and  without  saying  a  word  more  he  quietly  went  off."  ^ 

But  if  the  better-known  playwrights  were  not  subjected 
to  personal  insult,  they  nevertheless  frequently  suffered  in 
their  reputations  at  the  hands  of  unscrupulous  theatrical 
directors^  Even  the  greatest  of  them  all,  Lope  de  Vega, 
frequently  complains  of  his  treatment  by  them.  In  the 
dedication  of  his  comedia  Los  Muertos  vivos^  to  the 

^Exemplary  Novels,  translated  by  N.  Maccoll,  Glasgow,  1902,  Vol.  II, 
p.  202.  See  also  Castillo  Solorzano,  Aventuras  del  Bachiller  Trapaza, 
chap.  XV,  ed.  of  Madrid,  1905  (La  Enciclopedia  Moderna),  pp.  234  ff.,  and 
La  Garduna  de  Sevilla,  near  the  end. 

'Printed  in  Part  XVII  of  his  Comedias,  Madrid,  1621. 


174  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

dramatic  poet  Salucio  del  Poyo,  Lope  expresses  himself 
concerning  the  dishonest  practices  of  theatrical  managers. 
After  alluding  in  very  flattering  phrases  to  the  fame  ac- 
quired by  Poyo,  he  says  that  this  is,  in  another  sense,  a 
misfortune  for  the  dramatist,  "as,  on  account  of  the  good 
reputation  which  you  have  in  this  capital,  the  theatrical 
managers,  when  they  have  any  comedia  whatever  with  the 
author  of  which  they  are  not  satisfied,  adorn  their  placards 
with  your  name,  and  since  most  of  these  comedias,  being 
written  by  some  ignorant  fellow,  are  detestable,  you  would 
lose  much  reputation  among  those  who  know,  if  the  injury 
and  its  discovery  did  not  reach  those  who  esteem  you 
at  the  same  time."  He  adds  that  "a  poor  comedia, 
after  it  has  run  the  gauntlet  of  villages,  servants,  and  men 
who  live  by  stealing  them  and  adding  to  them,  is  so  dis- 
figured as  to  be  scarcely  recognizable."  ^ 

But  the  dramatist  had  other  difficulties  to  contend  with 
besides  the  unscrupulousness  of  theatrical  directors;  I 
allude  to  the  dishonest  practices  of  booksellers  who  issued 
pirated  editions  of  the  comedias,  to  the  great  detriment  of 
the  poet's  reputation. ^  That  the  playwright  suffered  any 
financial  loss  through  these  fraudulent  versions  issued  by 
the  booksellers  is  not  very  likely,  for  the  plays  were  sold 
by  their  authors  to  the  managers  of  companies,  except  per- 
haps in  the  rare  cases  of  playwrights  like  Andres  de  Clara- 
monte  and  Juan  de  Villegas,  who  were  also  actors  and 

^  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  pp.  293,  294.  See  also  the  Prologue  to  Lope's 
Part  XVII  {ibid.,  p.  291),  in  which  he  complains  bitterly  of  the  tricks 
and  deceptions  of  booksellers  and  theatrical  managers. 

'Lope  de  Vega,  as  is  well  known,  complained  of  the  piratical  booksellers 
in  his  Peregrino  (1604)  and  lastly  in  his  Dorotea  (1632).  (See  my  Life  of 
Lope  de  Vega,  pp.  156,  344.)  So  Montalvan  in  the  Prologo  to  the  first 
volume  of  his  Comedias,  Madrid,  1635,  is  especially  bitter  against  the 
booksellers  of  Seville,  "donde  no  ay  libra  ageno  que  no  se  imprima,"  and 
says  that  they  cut  the  comedias  down  to  four  pliegos  although  eight  may 
be  necessary,  and  that  they  issue  from  the  press  full  of  errors,  barbarisms, 
lies,  and  nonsense.  Calderon  also  frequently  deplores  their  practices. 
It  is  a  curious  fact  that  a  comedia  of  Lope,  Sin  Secreto  no  ay  Amor,  circu- 
lated as  a  suelta  under  the  name  of  Montalvan,  a  disciple  of  Lope. 


LUIS  REMIREZ  DE  ARELLANO         175 

directed  their  own  companies.  Having  bought  a  play 
from  its  author,  it  was  of  course  to  the  interest  of  the  pur- 
chasing manager  to  prevent  its  appearing  in  print  and  thus 
becoming  common  property.  Besides,  plays  were  often 
acquired  surreptitiously  by  some  individual  possessing  a 
good  memory,  who  visited  the  theater  and  noted  down  what 
he  could,  filling  in  the  rest  from  memory  or  de  su  cosecha, 
and  then  disposing  of  them  to  some  bookseller  or  theatrical 
manager.  Lope  de  Vega  alludes  with  bitterness  to  the 
pirated  versions  of  his  plays  as  early  as  1603,  in  the  Pro- 
logue to  El  Peregrino  en  su  P atria,  and  frequently  there- 
after, notably  in  1620  in  the  Prologue  to  Part  XIII  of  his 
Comedias.  He  says:  "...  To  this  must  be  added  the 
stealing  of  comedias  by  those  whom  the  vulgar  call,  the  one 
Memorilla,  and  the  other  Gran  Memoria,  who,  with  the 
few  verses  which  they  learn,  mingle  an  infinity  of  their  own 
barbarous  lines,  whereby  they  earn  a  living,  selling  them 
to  the  villages  and  to  distant  theatrical  managers;  base 
people  these,  without  a  calling,  and  many  of  whom  have 
been  jail-birds.  I  should  like  to  rid  myself  of  the  care  of 
publishing  these  plays,  but  I  cannot,  for  they  print  them 
with  my  name  while  they  are  the  work  of  the  pseudo-poets 
of  whom  I  have  spoken.  Receive  then.  Reader,  this  Part, 
corrected  as  well  as  it  was  possible  to  do  it,  and  with  my 
good  will,  for  the  only  interest  it  has  is  that  you  may  read 
these  comedias  with  less  errors,  and  that  you  may  not 
believe  that  there  is  any  one  in  the  world  who  can  note 
down  a  comedia  from  memory,  on  seeing  it  represented; 
and  if  there  were  such  a  person  I  should  praise  him  and 
esteem  him  as  standing  alone  with  this  power,  even  though 
he  should  lack  understanding,  for  seldom  are  they  found 
together,  as  philosophers  declare  and  as  experience  con- 
firms." ^ 

A  curious  instance  of  this  filching  of  plays,  of  which  he 
was  an  eye-witness,   is  related  by  Suarez   de  Figueroa : 

'  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  p.  272. 


176  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

"There  is  at  present  in  Madrid  a  young  man  of  remarkable 
memory,  named  Luis  Remirez  de  Arellano,  a  native  of 
Villaescusa  de  Haro  and  the  son  of  noble  parents.  This 
person  takes  from  memory  an  entire  comedia  on  hearing  it 
three  times,  without  the  slightest  variation  either  in  plot 
or  verses.  The  first  day  he  devotes  to  the  general  dispo- 
sition of  the  plot,  the  second  to  the  variety  of  the  composi- 
tion, and  the  third  to  the  exactness  of  the  verses.  In  this 
manner  he  commits  to  memory  any  comedia  he  desires. 
He  thus  noted  down  in  particular  La  Dama  Boba,  El  Prin- 
cipe perfeto,  and  La  Arcadia  [all  comedias  by  Lope  de 
Vega],  besides  others.  Being  present  on  one  occasion, 
listening  to  El  Galan  de  la  Memhrilla  [also  by  Lope], 
which  was  being  represented  by  the  company  of  Sanchez, 
the  latter  began  to  interrupt  the  argument  and  cut  short 
the  speeches  so  obviously  that,  being  questioned  as  to  the 
cause  of  this  hastening  and  mutilation  of  the  play,  he  re- 
plied publicly  that  some  one  was  present  in  the  audience 
(and  he  pointed  him  out)  who  in  three  days  took  down 
from  memory  any  comedia,  and  that  he  recited  the  comedia 
thus  badly  for  fear  that  he  might  wrongfully  get  posses- 
sion of  it.  Hereupon  there  was  great  excitement  among 
the  auditors,  who  requested  that  the  play  be  stopped  until 
Luis  Remirez  left  the  theater."^ 

^  Plaza  uni'versal  de  todas  Ciencias  y  Aries,  Perpinan,  1630,  pp.  254,  255. 
Espinel  had  mentioned  this  Remirez  years  before,  in  his  Marcos  de  Obre- 
gon,  ed.  of  Barcelona,  161 8,  fol.  240,  where  he  says:  "There,  is  a  young 
man  in  Madrid  named  Luys  Remirez,  who,  on  seeing  any  comedia  repre- 
sented, can  go  home  and  write  down  the  whole  of  it  without  missing  a 
letter  or  mistaking  a  verse."  This  Luis  Ramirez  was  also  a  poet.  Mon- 
talvan  says  of  him:  "Luis  Ramirez,  Poeta  elegante,  vizarro,  y  conceptuosa 
con  muchisimo  estremo,  y  de  tan  rara  y  prodigiosa  memoria,  que  de  oir 
una  o  dos  vezes  una  comedia,  la  repite  toda  entera,  cosa  que  no  se  ha 
contado  jamas  de  ningun  antiguo,  ni  moderno."  {Para  Todos,  Madrid, 
1645,  Prologue;  see  also  ibid.,  fol.  273,  verso.  On  the  stealing  of  Mon- 
talvan's  plays,  see  ibid..  Prologue.)  Malone,  Historical  Account  of  the 
English  Stage,  Basil,  1801,  p.  156,  remarks:  "It  was  a  common  practice  to 
carry  table-books  to  the  theater,  and  either  from  curiosity,  or  enmity  to  the 
author,  or  some  other  motive,  to  write  down  passages  of  the  play  that  was 
represented;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  imperfect  and  mutilated 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  COMEDIA  177 

As  to  the  honorarium  received  by  dramatic  poets,  it  of 
course  varied  greatly,  depending  upon  the  popularity  and 
reputation  of  the  writer.  Moreover,  about  the  middle  "of 
the  seventeenth  century  comedias  commanded  a  much 
higher  price  than  was  paid  for  them  at  the  beginning  of 
that  period.  This,  however,  is  doubtless  due  in  no  small 
measure  to  the  great  depreciation  in  the  value  of  money 
during  the  reign  of  Philip  the  Fourth.  In  1601  Lope  de 
Vega,  then  the  undisputed  ruler  of  the  Spanish  stage,  re- 
ceived 500  reals  for  his  comedia  La  hermosa  Alfreda,  and 
we  may  assume  that  this  was  the  customary  sum  paid  to  the 
most  prominent  playwrights  at  this  time  and  for  some 
years  thereafter,  while  the  average  sum  received  by  Lope 
for  an  auto  was  300  reals. ^  In  1625  Pedro  de  Valdes,  a 
theatrical  manager,  paid  460  reals  for  Guillen  de  Castro's 
Las  Maravillas  de  Babilonia,^  in  1627  Andres  de  la  Vega 
sold  to  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas  eight  comedias  for 
3600  reals,^  and  in  1633  *^^  dramatist  Don  Rodrigo  de 
Herrera  sold  to  Juan  Martinez,  theatrical  manager,  his 
comedia  Castigar  por  Defender  for  700  reals  "vellon,"* 
and  the  same  poet,  in  his  last  will  and  testament,  dated  at 
Madrid,  December  14,  1657,  declared  that  600  reals  were 

copies  of  one  or  two  of  Shakespeare's  dramas,  which  are  yet  extant,  were 
taken  down  by  the  ear  or  in  shorthand  during  the  exhibition." 

*As  we  shall  see  hereafter,  four  autos  sacramental es  were  represented 
annually  in  Madrid  at  the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi.  Lope's  services  were 
also  greatly  in  demand  for  this  species  of  dramatic  composition,  and  in 
1608  he  wrote  the  four  autos  represented  at  Madrid  in  that  year.  They 
were:  El  Adulterio  de  la  Esposa,  El  Caballero  dej.  Fenix,  Los  Casamientos 
de  Joseph,  and  La  Ninez  de  Cristo.  (Perez  Pastor,  Bull.  Hispanigue 
(1907),  p.  374.)  In  i6n  Lope  de  Vega  received  1200  reals  for  the  four 
autos  which  he  wrote  for  the  Corpus  festival  at  Seville  of  that  year. 
(Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  149.)  Calderon,  Spain's  religious  poet  par 
excellence,  received  much  larger  sums  after  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century  for  his  autos.     (See  below,  pp.  320,  321.) 

'  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  209. 
Ibid.,  p.  213.     It  is  probable  that  in  these  instances  a  larger  sum  had 
been  paid  for  these  comedias  originally,  inasmuch  as  when  these  sales  took 
place  the  plays  had  already  been   acted  upon   the  stage,   and  it  was  the 
neiu  comedia  which  was  always  in  greatest  demand. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  232. 


178  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

still  due  him  for  his  comedia  Lo  Cauteloso  de  un  Guante  y 
Confusion  de  un  Papel,  for  which  he  had  received  200 
reals  on  account,  as  800  reals  was  the  sum  that  he  had 
received  for  the  other  comedias  he  had  written.^ 

Concerning  the  honorarium  received  by  English  play- 
wrights in  the  time  of  Shakespeare,  it  seems  to  have  been 
greater  than  the  sums  paid  Spanish  poets,  when  the  rela- 
tive reputations  of  the  writers  are  considered.  Malone 
says :  "The  customary  price  of  the  copy  of  a  play  in  the  time 
of  Shakespeare  appears  to  have  been  twenty  nobles  or  six 
pounds  thirteen  shillings  and  fourpence."^  In  some  cases 
it  seems  that  the  poet  received  the  profits  of  the  second  or 
third  performance  of  his  play.  The  same  writer  says: 
"From  D'Avenant,  indeed,  we  learn  that  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  the  poet  had  his  benefit  on 
the  second  day.  As  it  was  the  general  practice  in  the  time 
of  Shakespeare  to  sell  the  copy  of  the  play  to  the  theater, 
I  imagine,  in  such  cases,  an  author  derived  no  other  advan- 
tage from  his  piece  than  what  arose  from  the  sale  of  it. 
Sometimes,  however,  he  found  it  more  beneficial  to  retain 
the  copyright  in  his  own  hands;  and  when  he  did  so,  I 
suppose  he  had  a  benefit.  It  is  certain  that  the  giving 
authors  the  profits  of  the  third  exhibition  of  their  play, 
which  seems  to  have  been  the  usual  mode  during  a  great 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was  an  established  custom 
in  the  year  161 2,  for  Dekker,  in  the  prologue  to  one  of  his 
comedies,  printed  in  that  year,  speaks  of  the  poet's  third 
day."^    He  further  adds :  "When  an  author  sold  his  piece 

*Pertz  Pastor,  Bibliografia  Madrileha,  Part  III,  Madrid,  1907,  p.  386. 

'Historical  Account  of  the  English  Stage,  Basil,  1800,  p.  178. 

*  Ibid.,,  pp.  172,  173.  Henslonjje's  Diary  gives  the  most  authentic  infor- 
mation concerning  the  sums  received  by  playwrights  for  .their  pieces.  In 
1598  Michael  Drayton  received  £6  for  the  play  of  Jf'illiam  Longsivord. 
The  entry  is  as  follows:  "I  receued  forty  shillings  of  m""  Phillip  Hinslowe 
in  part  of  vi"  for  the  playe  of  Willm  longsword  to  be  deliu^d  p^sent  w'h  2 
or  three  dayes  the  xxi'h  of  January  |  1598  |.  Mih  Drayton."  {Hensloive's 
Diary,  ed.  Greg,  Part  I,  1904,  p.  59.)  In  1598  Anthony  Munday  received 
£5  for  Robin  Hood:  "Layd  owt  unto  antony  monday  the  15  of  febreary 
1598   for   a   playe  boocke  called  the   firste   parte   of  Robyne   hoode,   v"." 


ENGLISH  DRAMATISTS  179 

to  the  sharers  or  proprietors  of  a  theater,  it  could  not  be 
performed  by  any  other  company,  and  remained  for  sev- 
eral years  unpublished;  when  that  was  not  the  case,  he 
printed  it  for  sale,  to  which  many  seem  to  have  been  in- 

{Ibid.,  p.  83.)  The  same  amount  was  paid  for  the  second  part  of  Robin 
Hood,  which  seems  to  have  been  written  by  Munday,  Chettle,  and  Shaw 
{ibid.,  p.  84),  while  Drayton,  Dekker,  and  Chettle  received  £4  5J.  for 
"the  famos  wares  of  henry  the  fyrste  &  the  prynce  of  walles"  {ibid., 
p.  85),  though  a  payment  on  account  may  have  been  previously  made. 
Again,  in  1598,  Drayton,  Dekker,  Chettle,  and  Wilson  received  £6  "for 
the  boocke  of  goodwine  &  his  iii  sonnes"  {ibid.,  p.  85),  and  Richard 
Hathwaye  received  £5  for  "his  boocke  of  kynge  arthore"  {ibid.,  pp.  86, 
87).  In  1599  Dekker  received  £6  for  his  History  of  Fortunatus  {ibid., 
pp.  114,  115),  and  in  i6oi  he  was  paid  the  same  sum  for  Kynge  Sebastian 
of  portyngall,  while  in  1602  Thomas  Haywood  received  £6  for  A  Woman 
killed  <with  Kindness  {ibid.,  p.  189),  so  that  £6  seems  to  have  been  the 
usual  price  for  a  play  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
following  lucid  statement  of  the  matter  is  given  by  Greg  {Hensloive's 
Diary,  II,  p.  126)  :  "For  the  earlier  period,  that  is,  down  to  1597,  we 
entirely  lack  evidence  upon  the  subject,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  reason- 
able basis,  conjecture  would  be  worse  than  useless.  From  the  end  of  1597 
onward,  we  have,  on  the  contrary,  very  full  evidence,  which  shows  that 
the  sums  paid  to  authors  were  gradually  rising.  This  was  only  part  of 
the  general  rise  in  prices  during  this  period,  due  to  the  steady  deprecia- 
tion of  money  consequent  upon  the  continued  influx  of  the  precious  metals 
from  the  New  World.  The  earliest  play  for  which  we  have  complete 
records  is  Mother  Redcap,  for  which  Drayton  and  Munday  received  £6 
in  full.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  usual  sum,  though  it  is  probable 
that  in  some  cases  not  more  than  £5  was  given,  as  for  each  part  of  Robin 
Hood.  The  first  part  of  Black  Baldman  was  bought  for  £7,  but  for  Part 
II  the  authors  only  got  the  usual  sum  of  £6.  This  continued  the  standard 
for  a  long  time,  with  occasional  variations  of  £5  on  the  one  hand  and  £7 
on  the  other.  We  suddenly  find  Chapman  receiving  £8.10  for  his  World 
runs  on  Wheels,  though  this  may  possibly  include  a  payment  for  another 
piece.  Chapman  .appears,  however,  to  have  commanded  prices  rather 
above  the  average,  and  Dekker  and  Jonson  received  £8  for  Page  of 
Plymouth.  Prices  now  begin  to  fluctuate  considerably.  Day  and  Haugh- 
ton  only  get  £5  for  Cox  of  Collumpton  and  Thomas  Merry,  respectively, 
but  the  authors  of  Sir  John  Oldcastle  get  £7  for  each  part,  besides  a 
bonus  of  loj.  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  performance,  and  Wilson  £8  for 
2  Henry  Richmond,  a  play  of  which  the  first  part  is  not  recorded.  The 
highest  price  entered  [in  the  Diary"]  also  appears  about  this  time,  namely, 
the  £io  paid  for  Patient  Grissel  (Dekker).  It  is,  however,  pretty  certain 
that,  though  the  company  authorized  the  expenditure  of  sums  amounting 
to  this  total,  the  authors  did  not  really  get  them,  but  only  £6  most  likely. 
The  prices  drop  again,  moreover,  to  something  between  £5  and  £7  till 
about  May,  1602,  when  £8  begins  to  be  a  not  infrequent  price.  This  sum 
was  obtained  by  the  six  or  more  playwrights  concerned  in  Casar's  Fall 
and  the  three  who  sufliced  to  compose  Merry  as  may  be  for  court.  The 
prices  paid  by  Worcester's  men  are  exactly  the  same,  and  it  may  be  said 


i8o  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

duced  from  an  apprehension  that  an  imperfect  copy  might 
be  issued  from  the  press  without  their  consent."^ 

It  may  be  observed  that  the  custom  then  prevalent  in 
England,  of  two  or  three  or  even  more  authors  collaborat- 
ing in  the  production  of  a  play,  was  also  common  in  Spain. 
Mira  de  Mescua  claims  to  have  been  the  first  to  introduce 
this  practice  among  his  fellow-playwrights : 


Porque  soy  el  que  ha  inventado 
El  componer  de  consuno.^ 


That  three  poets  should  collaborate  in  writing  a  comedia, 
each  undertaking  an  act,  was  not  infrequent ;  in  the  comedia 
La  Luna  Africana,^  eight  "ingenios"  took  a  hand,  while  La 
Conquista  de  Toledo  y  Rey  Don  Alfonso  el  VL  was  written 
by  eight  wits  in  three  hours,*  and  it  took  no  less  than  nine 
poets  to  write  Algunas  Hazanas  de  las  muchas  de  Don 
Garcia  Hurtado  de  Mendoza,  Marques  de  Canete.'^  They 
were:  Mira  de  Amescua,  the  Conde  del  Basto,  Luis  de 
Belmonte,  Juan  Ruiz  de  Alarcon,  Luis  Velez  de  Guevara, 
Fernando  de  Ludefia,  Jacinto  de  Herrera,  Diego  de  Ville- 
gas,  and  Guillen  de  Castro,  any  one  of  whom  alone  (with 
the  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  Conde  del  Basto)  could 
doubtless  have  written  a  better  play. 

throughout  the  standard  price  remains  £6,  but  that  while  in  the  earlier 
period  £s  is  not  uncommon,  toward  the  end  payments  of  £7  and  even  £8 
became  comparatively  frequent.  A  decade  later  prices  had  risen  greatly. 
A  third-rate  poet  like  Daborne,  evidently  deep  in  Henslowe's  toils,  gets 
£10  to  £20  a  play,  and  is  constantly  asserting  in  his  correspondence  that 
he  can  get  £25  elsewhere." 
^Historical  Account  of  the  English  Stage,  p.  175. 

*  Comedias  de  D.  Juan  Ruiz  de  Alarcon  y  Mendoza,  ed.  Hartzenbusch, 
p.  xxxiii  {Bib.  de  Aut.  Esp.,  Tomo  XX). 

*  Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No;  1929. 

*  Ibid.,  No.  684. 

•Published  in  Comedias  de  Alarcon,  ed.  Hartzenbusch,  pp.  489  ff. 


CHAPTER  IX 

The  salaries  of  actors  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 
Managers  turn  actors.  Corrales  in  various  cities.  Valencia  as  a 
theatrical  center.  It  is  visited  by  players  from  Madrid.  Sums 
received  by  managers  for  the  performance  of  a  comedia.  For 
autos  sacramentales.  Receipts  of  a  representation.  The  rental 
of  the  corrales. 

Actors  were  generally  engaged  by  the  managers  of  com- 
panies for  a  period  of  one  or  two  years,  beginning  at 
Shrovetide  or  Ash  Wednesday.  They  were  paid  every 
evening,  as  soon  as  the  play  was  over,  unless  there  was  an 
express  agreement  to  the  contrary.  In  the  comedia  El 
mejor  Representante:  San  Gines,  by  Cancer,  Rosete,  and 
Martinez  de  Meneses,  we  read: 

Know  that  every  night  the  player 
Gets  the  wages  which  he  earneth; 
This  the  autor  pays,  if  even 
In  the  chest  there  be  no  money.^ 

The  salaries  of  actors  varied  greatly,  of  course,  accord- 
ing to  their  skill  and  proficiency,  or  the  power  they  pos- 
sessed of  attracting  an  audience.  Thanks  to  the  investiga- 
tions of  that  indefatigable  scholar.  Dr.  Cristobal  Perez 
Pastor,  to  whom  we  owe  nearly  everything  that  has  been 
added  to  our  knowledge  of  the  old  Madrid  stage  during 

*  "Un  representante  cobra 
Cada  noche  lo  que  gana, 
Y  el  Autor  paga,  aunque 
No  ay  dinero  en  la  caxa." 
(Comedias  Escogidas,  Vol.  XXIX,  i668,  p.  199.) 

181 


1 82  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

the  last  half-century,  we  now  possess  a  mass  of  material 
concerning  the  actors  of  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth 
and  the  whole  seventeenth  century  which  is  of  the  greatest 
interest  and  importance.  Among  the  documents  collected 
in  his  various  publications  are  many  contracts  and  agree- 
ments between  managers  and  actors  which  give  us  all  de- 
sirable information  in  regard  to  the  salaries  received  by 
players.  As  we  know  little  or  nothing  concerning  the  rela- 
tive merits  of  the  vast  majority  of  these  more  than  eighteen 
hundred  actors,  it  would  be  useless  to  specify  any  save 
those  who  occupied  the  most  prominent  positions  in  their 
profession  or  whose  names  are  best  known  in  the  annals 
of  the  Spanish  stage. 

It  is  interesting,  however,  to  give  the  earliest  case  cited 
by  Dr.  Perez  Pastor,  under  the  year  1574,  a  time  when 
neither  the  Corral  de  la  Cruz  nor  the  Corral  del  Principe 
had  yet  been  established  in  Madrid.  On  May  17,  1574, 
Juan  de  Sigura,  an  actor,  agreed  to  work  in  the  company  of 
Jeronimo  Velazquez,  "from  to-day  until  Shrovetide  of 
1575,  for  the  sum  of  100  ducats  [=1100  reals],  and 
besides  he  is  to  receiv^e  food,  drink,  and  lodging,  and  to 
have  his  clothes  washed,  and  is  to  be  conveyed  on  horse- 
back, whenever  necessary.  And  if  the  said  Sigura  should 
absent  himself  from  the  company  during  the  said  time,  the 
autor  [Velazquez]  may  seek  another  actor  in  the  place  of 
the  said  Sigura,  and  the  latter  shall  pay  the  costs  and  be- 
sides a  ducat  for  every  auto  or  comedia  which  he  may 
miss."^ 

In  May,  1595,  Agustin  Solano,  a  well-known  actor  and 
one  of  the  interlocutors  in  the  Viage  entretenido  of  Rojas 
( 1 603 ) ,  agrees  to  work  in  the  company  of  Caspar  de 
Porres  for  two  years,  from  Shrovetide  to  Shrovetide,  act- 
ing such  parts  as  may  be  assigned  to  him,  and  to  receive 
3000  reals  per  year.^ 

Generally,  besides  the  amount  to  be  received  for  acting, 

^  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  334.  *  Ibid.,  p.  42. 


EARLY  ACTORS  183 

an  additional  sum  was  stipulated  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  player,  and  in  earlier  times  it  was  also  expressly  stated 
that  the  player  was  to  be  provided  with  clean  linen,  as 
when,  in  1595,  Jusephe  Gonzaltz,  actor,  and  his  wife 
Luisa  Benzon  are  to  receive,  in  addition  to  their  wage, 
"one  doubloon  each  year  to  wash  their  clothes,  as  is  cus- 
tomary, and  as  other  managers  give,  besides  mules  and  a 
cart  for  them  and  their  baggage,  when  they  leave  the 
court."  ^ 

Minors  were  frequently  bound  out  to  the  managers  of 
companies  for  a  term  of  years,  as  when  Francisco  Ortiz, 
in  May,  1600,  was  placed  with  Caspar  de  Porres  for  four 
years,  "to  serve  him  and  help  him  in  his  farces  and  autos 
in  everything  which  may  be  required,  as  well  in  private  as 
in  public  representations,  and  the  said  Caspar  de  Porres  is 
to  clothe,  feed,  and  shoe  him,  and  furnish  whatever  else 
may  be  necessary,  and  to  take  care  of  him  in  his  illness, 
and  to  provide  lodging  and  clean  clothes,  and  to  furnish 
transportation  when  the  company  leaves  Madrid,  for 
which,  at  the  end  of  the  said  time,  he  [Ortiz]  is  to  receive 
90  ducats."  2  This  is  probably  the  Francisco  Ortiz  whom 
we  find  in  1617  as  manager  of  a  company.^ 

A  list  of  some  of  the  more  prominent  players  and  their 
salaries  here  follows : 

On  February  26,  1602,  Agustin  de  Rojas  (author  of  the 
Viage  entretenido)  agrees  to  act  in  the  company  of  Miguel 
Ramirez  (an  interlocutor  in  the  Entertaining  Journey) 
from  that  date  until  Shrovetide,  1603,  for  2800  reals.* 

In  March,  1604,  Miguel  Ruiz  and  his  wife,  the  cele- 
brated Baltasara  de  los  Reyes  (called  la  Baltasara)^ 
agreed  to  act  in  the  company  of  Caspar  de  Porres  for  one 
year,  receiving  16  reals  for  each  performance  and  6  reals 
daily  for  maintenance,  besides  traveling  expenses.^ 

In  September,  1604,  Juan  de  Angulo  is  engaged  to  act 

^  Ibid.,  p.  39.  *  Ibid.,  p.  53.  *  Ibid.,  p.  i6i. 

*Ibid.,  p.  351.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  84. 


1 84  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

in  the  company  of  Antonio  Granado  for  one  year,  receiv- 
ing 5  reals  daily  for  each  representation  and  3  reals  for 
maintenance.^ 

1606:  Juan  Catalan  and  his  wife  Mariana  de  Guevara 
were  engaged  by  Alonso  Riquelme  for  one  year  from 
Shrovetide  to  Shrovetide,  "to  sing,  act,  and  help  in  the 
entremeses"  receiving  15  reals  for  each  performance,  be- 
sides 6  reals  daily  for  maintenance,  while  Agustin  Coronel 
is  to  receive  from  the  same  autor  7  reals  for  each  repre- 
sentation, besides  4  reals  daily  for  maintenance.  Diego 
Lopez  Basurto,  a  famous  comic  actor  {gracioso)^  joined 
the  same  company,  receiving  9  reals  for  each  performance 
and  3  reals  daily  for  maintenance.^ 

1 6 10:  Luis  Alvarez  and  his  wife  Mariana  de  Herbias 
agreed  to  act  in  the  company  of  Alonso  Riquelme  for  one 
year  from  Shrovetide,  1610.  "To  Mariana  Herbiais  are 
to  be  assigned  all  the  parts  formerly  played  by  Lucia  de 
Salcedo,  for  she  takes  the  latter's  place,  and  in  the  new 
comedias  she  is  to  share  the  principal  roles  with  another 
actress.  They  are  to  receive  22  reals  for  each  representa- 
tion and  10  reals  daily  for  maintenance."^ 

161 1 :  Pedro  Llorente  and  his  wife  Maria  de  Morales 
agreed  to  act  in  the  company  of  Tomas  Fernandez  de 
Cabredo  for  one  year,  receiving  20  reals  for  each  perform- 
ance, 8  reals  for  maintenance,  besides  traveling  expenses 
for  the  couple  and  a  servant."* 

1 614:  Luis  Quifiones  engaged  for  one  year  to  sing 
either  solos  or  accompanied,  in  the  troupe  of  Pedro  de 
Valdes,  receiving  14  reals  for  each  representation,  6^ 
reals  for  maintenance,  and  300  reals  for  Corpus.     Also 

^  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  355.  This  was  probably  the  "Angulo,  el  malo,"  who 
afterward  became  director  of  a  company  and  who  is  mentioned  by  Cer- 
vantes. See  Don  Quixote,  ed.  Clemencin,  Vol.  IV,  p.  190,  and  also  Nuevos 
Datos,  p.  169,  where  Juan  de  Angulo  and  Bernarda  Gonzalez,  his  wife,  re- 
ceived (in  1619)  12  reals  for  each  performance  and  6  reals  daily  for  main- 
tenance, besides  "the  customary  amount  for  the  Corpus  festival"  and 
transportation. 

*Ibid.,  p.  93.  *  Ibid.,  p.  116.  *Ibid.,  p.  126. 


THE  SALARIES  OF  ACTORS  185 

Juan  de  Villanueva,  to  receive  10  reals  for  each  perform- 
ance and  4  for  maintenance.^  Juan  de  Graxales  and  his  wife 
CataHna  de  Peralta  agreed  to  act  in  the  company  of  Alonso 
de  Villalba;  they  are  to  receive  22  reals  for  each  repre- 
sentation, 8  reals  for  maintenance,  and  22  ducats  for  the 
octave  of  Corpus,  besides  traveling  expenses  and  costumes. ^ 

1 619:  Francisco  de  Castro  is  to  receive  from  Tomas 
Fernandez,  besides  his  pay,  transportation  for  himself  and 
wife,  and  if  the  latter  do  not  accompany  him,  she  is  to 
receive  several  pairs  of  silk  stockings.^  Alonso  Fernandez 
de  Guardo  and  his  wife  Ana  Cabello  agreed  to  act  in  the 
company  of  Fernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas  for  one  year,  "giv- 
ing to  the  said  Ana  Cabello  the  first  parts,  of  which  she 
may  not  be  deprived,  for  this  is  the  especial  agreement." 
They  received  24  reals  for  each  performance,  10  reals  for 
maintenance,  and  400  reals  for  the  Corpus  festival,  and 
traveling  expenses  for  the  couple  and  servant.  Bartolome 
de  Robles  and  his  wife  Mariana  de  Guevara  are  to  go 
with  Maria  Lopez  to  represent  four  comedias  in  the  town 
of  Buendia,  receiving  food  and  lodging  and  1080  reals; 
700  for  the  married  couple  and  380  for  Maria  Lopez.* 
Pedro  Garcia  de  Salinas  (a  famous  comic  actor)  and  his 
wife  Jeronima  de  Valcazar  are  to  act  for  two  years  in  the 
company  of  Sanchez,  beginning  at  Shrovetide,  161 9; 
Salinas  to  play  the  part  of  gracioso,  and  Jeronima  second 
women's  roles,  receiving  24  reals  for  each  representation 
and  8  reals  for  maintenance,  besides  traveling  expenses  and 
costumes.** 

1620:  Andres  de  la  Vega  and  his  wife,  the  famous 
Maria  de  Cordoba,  called  Amarilis,  agreed  to  act  in  the 
company  of  Tomas  Fernandez  during  the  year  1621,  re- 
ceiving 36  reals  for  each  representation  and  14  reals  for 
maintenance,  besides  600  reals  for  the  Corpus  festival  and 
four  riding-animals  for  traveling  ^ 

^Ibid.,  p.  138.  *lbid.,  p.  141.  '  Ibid.,  p.  169. 

*Ib'td.,  p.  171.  *  Ibid.,  p.  172.  'Ibid.,  p.  187. 


1 86  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

1623  :  Juan  de  Villegas,  actor  (and  also  a  playwright  of 
distinction),  agreed  to  act  In  the  company  of  Manuel 
Vallejo,  receiving  22  reals  for  each  representation  and  8 
reals  for  maintenance.^  In  the  company  of  Domingo  Bal- 
bin  In  this  year  Roque  de  FIgueroa  (afterward  a  famous 
director)  and  his  wife  Maria  de  Ollvares  received  22  reals 
daily,  besides  1 1  reals  for  maintenance.  Juan  de  Bezon, 
a  well-known  gracioso,  and  his  wife  Ana  Maria  {la 
Bezona)  received.  In  the  company  of  Hernan  Sanchez,  27 
reals  daily,  13  reals  for  maintenance,  besides  700  reals  for 
the  Corpus  festival  and  three  riding-animals  for  traveling.^ 
Bartolome  Romero  and  his  wife  Antonia  Manuela,  in  the 
company  of  Juan  Bautlsta  Valenclano,  received  24  reals 
for  each  representation  and  14  reals  daily  for  maintenance. 

1632:  In  December  Maria  Calderon  {la  C alder ona, 
mother  of  Don  John  of  Austria,  born  In  1629)  agreed  to 
go  to  the  town  of  Pinto  to  act  in  two  autos  and  two  come- 
dlas  on  Corpus  ChristI  and  the  following  day,  for  which 
she  received  1050  reals,  besides  traveling  expenses  for  her- 
self, her  husband  Tomas  de  Rojas,  and  a  maid,  and  lodg- 
ing and  8  reals  daily  while  going  and  returning.^ 

1633:  Maria  de  Cordoba  is  to  act,  sing,  and  dance  In 
two  comedlas  at  Daganzo,  furnishing  the  necessary  cos- 
tumes. The  two  comedlas  are  to  be  selected  from  the 
following:  No  hay  Dicha  ni  Desdicha  hasta  la  Muerte  (by 
Mescua?  Rojas  Zorrllla?)  ;  Amar  como  se  ha  de  Amar 
(Lope)  ;ElMilagroporlos  Celos  (Lope)  ;Sufrirmas por 
querer  mas  (Vlllalzan)  ;  El  Mariscal  de  Biron  (Montal- 
van)  ;  La  Puente  de  Mantible  (Calderon)  ;  La  Dicha  del 
For  aster  o  (Lope)  ;  and  El  Examen  de  Maridos  (Aldr- 
con).  She  is  to  receive  800  reals,  board  and  traveling 
expenses  for  herself  and  maid.  In  1639  the  same  actress 
received  1000  reals  for  four  comedlas  at  Valdemoro.^ 
It  will  be  seen  that  players  generally  received  an  extra  sum 

^  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  192.  *  Ibid.,  p.  203. 

*Ibid.,  p.  226.  *  Ibid.,  pp.  226,  302. 


THE  SALARIES  OF  ACTORS  187 

for  the  Corpus  festival,  and  about  this  time  the  custom 
came  into  vogue  of  also  giving  additional  sums  for  other 
festivals. 

1634 :  In  the  company  of  Pedro  de  la  Rosa  in  this  year 
Francisco  de  Velasco,  who  played  first  young  men's  roles 
(primera  parte  de  galanes),  and  his  wife  Ana  Fajardo, 
who  was  to  play  any  part  that  might  be  assigned  to  her, 
received  19  reals  for  each  performance,  4  reals  for  main- 
tenance daily,  and  400  reals  for  the  Corpus  festival,  besides 
three  riding-animals,  while  Cosme  Perez  (called  Juan 
Rana),  the  greatest  comic  actor  [gracioso)  of  his  time, 
received  20  reals  for  each  performance,  10  reals  for 
maintenance,  and  550  reals  for  Corpus,  besides  three 
riding-animals.  Players  of  old  men's  roles  generally  re- 
ceived very  small  pay;  Pedro  Sanchez  Baquero,  who 
played  first  old  men's  parts  in  this  company  ("primera 
parte  de"  barba) ,  getting  but  5  reals  daily  and  5  reals  for 
maintenance,  with  one  riding-animal  and  baggage  car- 
ried.^ Musicians  seem  to  have  been  well  paid,  for  In 
March,  1633,  Alonso  Gomez  Camacho  agreed  with  the 
director  Sanchez  to  take  part  in  the  Corpus  festival  and 
its  octave,  playing  the  violin,  dancing,  and  directing  the 
music  for  500  reals. ^ 

1637  :  Maria  de  Quinones  played  the  principal  parts  In 
the  company  of  Tomas  Fernandez,  receiving  16  reals  for 
each  representation,  9  reals  for  maintenance,  and  500  reals 
for  the  Corpus  festival,  besides  three  riding-animals.^ 

1638:  Pedro  Manuel  de  Castilla,  of  the  company  of 
Antonio  de  Rueda,  and  one  of  the  most  celebrated  galanes 
of  his  time,  received  20  reals  daily,  10  reals  for  mainte- 
nance, and  500  reals  for  Corpus,  while  Diego  Osorio,  a 
famous  gracioso,  received  15  reals,  besides  8  reals  daily 
for  maintenance  and  350  reals  for  Corpus.^ 

1639:  Mariana  de  los  Reyes  played  first  parts  in  the 
company  of  Andres   de   la   Vega,   receiving    100   ducats 

*/*/</.,  p.  245.  *  Ibid.,  ^.  212.  *  Ibid.,  p.  2si.  *  Ibid.,  p.  $01. 


1 88  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

(=iioo  reals)  tor  the  Corpus  festival,  ii  ducats  each 
for  the  festivals  In  August  and  September,  and  7  ducats 
for  each  of  the  other  festivals;  besides,  "a  trunk  full  of 
clothes  which  she  had  pawned  Is  to  be  released,  she  to  pay 
the  amount  due  and  to  be  allowed  5  reals  dally  for  mainte- 
nance when  the  company  travels."^  In  this  year  the  com- 
pany of  Antonio  de  Rueda  contained,  among  others,  Pedro 
de  Ascanio  and  his  wife  Antonia  Infante;  the  former  was 
to  act,  dance,  and  sing,  the  latter  to  play  third  parts  and 
to  sing  and  dance  the  principal  part  in  the  saynetes,  they 
receiving  30  reals  daily  and  500  reals  for  Corpus.  This 
is  the  earliest  mention  of  the  word  saynete  (In  the  sense 
of  a  short  interlude)  that  I  have  found.  In  the  same 
company  Doiia  Jacinta  de  Herblas  y  Flores,  widow,  was 
engaged  to  act  second  parts,  dance,  and  sing,  receiving  21 
reals  daily,  besides  440  reals  for  Corpus.^ 

These  data  are  more  than  sufficient  to  show  the  re- 
muneration received  by  actors  and  actresses  In  Spain  dur- 
ing the  most  flourishing  period  of  the  drama.^  If,  for  the 
purpose  of  comparison,  we  convert  these  sums  Into  Eng- 
lish money,  and  reckon  that  a  real  at  the  close  of  the  slx- 

*  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  302. 

'Ibid.,  p.  304.  These  are  the  actresses  who  figure  in  the  episode  related 
on  p.  127. 

'Concerning  the  pay  of  English  actors  Malone  says:  "It  is  not  easy  to 
ascertain  what  were  the  emoluments  of  a  successful  actor  in  the  time  of 
Shakespeare.  They  had  not  then  annual  benefits,  as  at  present.  The  clear 
emoluments  of  the  theater,  after  deducting  the  nightly  expenses  for  lights, 
men  occasionally  hired  for  the  evening,  etc.,  which  in  Shakespeare's  house 
was  but  forty-five  shillings,  were  divided  into  shares,  of  which  part  be- 
longed to  the  proprietors,  who  were  called  housekeepers,  and  the  re- 
mainder was  divided  among  the  actors,  according  to  their  rank  and 
merit."  {Historical  Account,  p.  188.)  "About  twenty  pounds  was  a  con- 
siderable receipt  at  the  Blackfriars  and  Globe  theater  on  any  one  day." 
{Ibid.,  p.  194.)  He  further  says  that  Hart,  the  celebrated  tragedian,  after 
the  Restoration  had  but  three  pounds  per  week  as  an  actor,  but  he  had 
besides  six  shillings  and  three  pence  every  day  on  which  there  was  a 
performance  at  the  King's  theater,  making  in  all  about  one  hundred  and 
forty-six  pounds  for  a  season  of  thirty  weeks.  {Ibid.,  p.  198.)  It  appears 
that  English  actors  were  also  frequently  hired  at  Shrovetide.  Of  the 
actors  in  the  pay  of  Henslowe,  we  find  a  contract  with  Thomas  Downton, 
who  on  January  25,  1599,  "ded  hire  as  his  couenante  servante  for  ii  yer» 


ACTRESSES  WELL  PAID  189 

teenth  century  was  equivalent  to  sixpence/  we  shall  see 
that  their  pay  was  large  in  comparison  with  other  voca- 
tions, and  was  probably  much  higher  than  the  sums  re- 
ceived by  English  players  of  the  same  period,  who  were  not 
shareholders.  The  3000  reals  per  year  received  by  Agus- 
tin  Solano  in  1595  was  the  equivalent  of  about  £75,  while 
Agustin  de  Rojas  in  1602  received  2800  reals,  or  about 
£70,  per  annum.  Where  the  player  was  paid  a  certain  sum 
for  each  representation,  which  was  the  almost  universal 
rule,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  much  more  difficult  to  calculate 
the  total  sum,  for  representations  were  not  given  every 
day  and  never  on  Saturdays,  and  the  length  of  the  theat- 
rical season  varied,  though  it  was  generally  from  thirty  to 
thirty-two  weeks  in  a  year.  Still,  how  liberally  Spain,  as 
poor  as  she  was  in  1632,  was  willing  to  pay  for  theatrical 
exhibitions  may  be  seen  in  the  case  of  the  great  actress 
Maria  Calderon,  who  received  1050  reals  for  four  per- 
formances on  two  days,  besides  all  expenses  paid,  the 
equivalent  of  over  £26,  and  Maria  de  Cordoba  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  received  800  reals  (^£20)  for  two  repre- 
sentations.   Even  larger  sums  were  received  by  players  in 

to  beg[a]yne  at  shrofe  tewesday  next  &  he  to  geue  him  viii  s.  a  wecke  as 
long  as  they  playe  &  after  they  lye  stylle  one  fortnyght  then  to  geue  him 
hallfe  wages."  {Hensloive's  Diary,  ed.  Greg,  p.  40.)  And  in  a  memo- 
randum of  July  27,  1597,  we  read:  "I  heayred  Thomas  hearne  with  il 
pence  for  to  searve  me  ii  yeares  in  the  qualetie  of  playenge  for  fyve 
shellynges  a  weacke  for  one  yeare  &  vi  s.  viii  d.  for  the  other  yeare  which 
he  hath  covenanted  hime  seallfe  to  searue  me  &  not  to  departe  from  my  com- 
paney  tyll  this  ii  yeares  be  eanded."  {Ibid.,  p.  201.)  See  also  the  agree- 
ment of  Henslowe  with  "John  Helle  the  clowne"  "to  contenew  with  me 
at  my  howsse  in  playinge  tylle  strafe  tyd  next  after  the  date  aboue 
written"  (August  3,  1597),  etc.,  and  the  contract  with  William  Borne, 
ibid.,  p.  203.  Here  from  Shrovetide  to  Shrovetide  was  also  frequently  the 
term  of  the  contract.  Soulie,  Recherches  sur  Moliere,  Paris,  1863,  p.  61, 
prints  two  contracts  with  actors  of  a  much  later  period  (1664),  in  which 
the  players  are  obliged  to  be  "dans  la  ville  d'Abbeville  en  Picardie  avec 
leurs  hardes,  bagages  et  paquets  pour  commencer  la  representation  des 
pieces  qui  seront  convenues  entre  eux  du  jour  des  fetes  de  Paques  prochain 
jusqu'au  mercredi  des  Cendres  aussi  prochain."  One  of  the  actors  agrees  to 
play  the  comic  roles  and  "travailler  aux  decorations  desdites  pieces  pour 
les  peintures  qu'il  y  conviendra  faire." 
*  Minsheu's  Spanish  Dictionary,  London,  1599,  ad  verb. 


I90  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

the  succeeding  years,  though  perhaps,  on  account  of  the 
great  depreciation  in  the  value  of  money,  the  actual  value 
was  no  greater. 

During  this  whole  period  which  we  have  been  consider- 
ing the  manager  of  every  theatrical  company,  or  autor  de 
comedias  as  he  was  called,  was  invariably  also  an  actor. 
The  cases  are  therefore  very  frequent  in  which  we  find  an 
autor  one  year  becoming  a  member  of  another's  company 
in  the  next,  and  in  the  succeeding  year  reappearing  at  the 
head  of  a  company,  according  as  fortune  was  favorable  or 
adverse  to  him. 

There  is  an  early  and  interesting  example  in  1602,  when 
Jeronimo  Lopez  de  Sustaya,  autor  de  comedias,  and  his 
wife  Isabel  Rodriguez  agreed  with  Antonio  Granado,  also 
an  autor  de  comedias,  to  act  in  the  latter's  company  for  two 
years,  receiving  6  reals  daily  for  maintenance  and  5300 
reals  yearly,  to  be  paid  every  four  months.  However, 
Jeronimo  Lopez  is  to  give  Granado  "the  comedias  which 
he  may  have,  and  among  them  the  following  four:  San 
Reymundo,  Los  Caballeros  nuevos.  La  Fuensanta  de  Cor- 
doba, and  El  Trato  de  la  Aldea,"  all  of  which  he  declared 
that  "he  had  bought  from  the  poets  who  had  written  them, 
paying  his  money  for  them,  so  that  the  said  Antonio  Gra- 
nado may  use  them  as  to  him  may  seem  best."^  In  like 
manner  Francisco  de  Sotomayor,  who  had  been  director 
of  a  company  in  1631,  and  his  wife  Vicenta  Lopez  joined 
the  company  of  Roque  de  Figueroa  In  1632,  as  we  learn 
from  a  Loa  by  Benavente  : 

Bezon :         Who  are  you  ? 

Sotomayor:  Sotomayor, 

Who,  an  authorized  director, 
Have  this  year  become  a  player, 
Since  to  me  players  are  lacking.^ 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  64. 

*  Eniremeses,  edited  by  Rosell,  Vol.  I,  p.  231.    So  in  1638  Pedro  Manuel 
de  Castilla  and  Tomas  de  Heredia,  who  had  been  directors  of  companies  in 


LOPE  IN  VALENCIA  191 

With  the  establishment  of  fixed  corrales  In  Madrid,  as 
already  observed,  the  taste  for  theatrical  representations 
grew  rapidly  until  It  became  a  passion  with  all  classes,  high 
and  low.  Every  large  city  possessed  a  theater,  while  every 
town  and  hamlet,  be  It  never  so  poor,  looked  forward  with 
eagerness  to  the  advent  of  a  company  of  jstrolllng  jplayers, 
whose  visits  seem  to  have  been  looked  upon~as  thecrowning 
event  of  the  year,  and  for  whose  representations,  especially 
those  upon  some  festival,  large  sums  of  money  were  ex- 
pended. We  have  already  described  the  corrales  of 
Madrid  and  Seville,  but  Valencia,  Granada,*  Valladolld, 
and  Salamanca  must  have  had  theaters  at  a  very  early 
date.  It  has  been  already  remarked  that  the  importance 
'of  Valencia  as  a  theatrical  center  has  generally  been  exag- 
gerated. While  a  corral  certainly  existed  In  that  city  as 
early  as  1583  or  1584,  there  is  no  evidence  of  any 
unusual  dramatic  activity  in  Valencia  before  the  ar- 
rival of  Lope  de  Vega  In  that  city  In  1588.  In  this 
year  Lope  was  tried  for  criminally  libeling  Jeronimo 
Velazquez,  a  theatrical  director,  and  several  members 
of  his  family.  He  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  ban- 
ishment for  two  years  from  the  kingdom  of  Castile, 
and  for  eight  years  from  the  court  (Madrid)  and  five 
leagues  therefrom.  The  first  two  years  of  his  banishment, 
till  1590,  he  expiated  In  Valencia,  whither  he  went  with  his 
wife  and  family.  That  Lope  was  very  active  in  writing 
for  the  stage  during  this  period  is  evinced  by  the  testimony 

the   preceding  year,   belonged   to   the   company   of   Rueda    and   Ascanio. 
{Ibid.,  pp.  368,  369.) 

'According  to  Pedraza,  Historia  ecclesiast'tca  de-  Granada,  quoted  by 
Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  18,  Granada  possessed  a  permanent  theater  a  few 
years  after  the  conquest  by  Ferdinand  the  Catholic  in  1492.  Representa- 
tions took  place  in  the  Casa  de  Carbon  on  the  Darro,  until  the  Coliseo 
was  erected  in  the  Puerta  del  Rastro,  called  now  the  Puerta  Real.  "It 
was  arranged  in  the  form  most  suited  for  this  purpose,  with  aposentos 
divided  for  men  and  women,  and  a  patio  surrounded  by  gradas,  protected 
from  the  sun  and  rain,  but  open  to  the  sky  in  the  center,  as  was  the 
Amphitheater  at  Rome."  Of  the  Coliseo  in  the  Puerta  Real,  Pedraza 
says:  "El  Coliseo  donde  se  representan  las  comedias  es  un  faraoso  teatro: 


192  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

of  Caspar  de  Porres,  a  theatrical  manager,  who  testified  at 
the  trial  for  libel  that  he  received  comedias  from  Lope 
every  two  months,  and  Porres's  testimony  is  supplemented 
by  that  of  Quiros,  another  autor  de  comedias.^  It  is  to 
Lope's  sojourn  in  Valencia  in  1588-90  that  the  powerful 
impulse  which  the  drama  received  in  that  city  is  wholly 
due.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  Valencian  School,  for  we 
hear  nothing  of  it  before  Lope  visited  Valencia,  and  that 
the  latter  city  was  always  dependent  upon  Madrid  in 
theatrical  matters  is  shown  by  abundant  evidence.  After 
the  capital,  as  already  observed,  the  most  important  theat- 
rical center  was  Seville,  yet  the  corrales  of  Seville  were 
also  frequently  visited  by  the  large  theatrical  companies 
of  Madrid.  Concerning  the  establishment  of  fixed  co- 
rrales in  the  other  principal  cities,  there  are  no  data 
at  hand,  so  far  as  I  know,  but  they  certainly  possessed 
them  before  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In 
the  Archivo  Historico  Nacional  there  Is  a  petition,  dated 
1602,  to  establish  a  theater  In  the  "Carcel  vieja" 
in  Cordoba, 2  but  it  is  probable  that  a  corral  existed 
there  prior  to  this  date.  In  1606  the  company  of  Juan 
de  Morales  Medrano  Inaugurated  the  playhouse  {casa 
de  comedias)  in  Zamora,^  and  in  the  same  year  they 
appeared  in  Segovia,  though  It  seems  doubtful  whether 
there  was  then  a  fixed  theater  in  the  latter  city.^  In  1608 
Alonso  de  Rlquelme  took  his  company  to  Toledo,  to  re- 
main thirty  days,  the  lessee  of  the  casa  de  comedias  in 
Toledo,  Juan  Gallegos,  agreeing  to  pay  50  ducats  (=  550 

apenas  la  fama  del  Romano  le  quita  el  primer  lugar.  Es  un  patio  qua- 
drado  con  dos  pares  de  corrcdores  que  estriban  sobre  colunas  de  marmol 
pardo,  y  debaxo  gradas  para  el  residuo  del  pueblo.  Esta  cubierto  el 
teatro  de  un  cielo  bolado,  la  entrada  ornada  de  una  portada  de  marmol 
bianco  y  pardo  con  un  escudo  de  las  armas  de  Granada." 
^  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  pp.  38-40. 

*  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  79. 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  125.    But  see  ibid.,  p.  109,  note,  from  which 
it  appears  that  there  was  a  casa  de  comedias  in  Zamora  in  1599. 

*  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  96. 


ACTORS  VISIT  VALENCIA  193 

reals)  daily  "for  the  whole  company."  ^  At  least  as  early  as 
1584  Valencia  was  visited  by  a  company  of  players  from 
Madrid,  when  Alonso  de  Cisneros  represented  there  for 
three  months,  prior  to  November  6  of  that  year.^  In  this 
same  year,  apparently,  for  the  account  is  not  clear,  "N. 
Velazquez,"  whom  I  take  to  be  Jeronimo  Velazquez, 
had  also  performed  in  Valencia,^  while  Rodrigo  and  Fran- 
cisco Osorio  were  in  the  same  city  in  1588,^  Bartolome 
Lopez  de  Quiros  in  1588  or  1589,  and  Juan  de  Vergara  in 
1594-95.  In  1 601  Caspar  de  Porres  took  his  troupe 
there  from  Toledo,"^  and  in  161 9  we  find  a  theatrical 
manager,  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas,  who  had  always 
been  connected  with  companies  organized  in  Madrid, 
where  he  resided  from  the  beginning  of  his  career,  taking 
up  his  residence  in  Valencia.^  In  1623  Cristobal  de 
Avendafio  and  Maria  Candau,  his  wife,  took  their  com- 
pany to  Valencia  for  fifty  representations,  and  he  again 
visited  the  city  with  his  company  in  163 1,  being  guaranteed 
a  subsidy  {ayuda  de  costa)  of  140  reals  of  plate  double 
for  each  representation.^  In  April,  1628,  Juan  Jeronimo 
Almella  or  Amelia  took  his  company  to  Valencia  for  sixty 
performances,®  and  in  1635  Sebastian  Gonzalez  and  his 
wife  Maria  Manuela  went'  to  Valencia  to  give  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  performances,  receiving  140  reals  for  each 

*  Ibid.,  p.  no. 

*Lamarca,  El  Teatro  de  Valencia,  Valencia,  1840,  p.  18. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  19. 

*  Cotarelo,  Lope  de  Rueda,  p.  30;  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  p.  39. 

' Nuevos  Datos,  p.  59.  'Ibid.,  p.  186.  ''Ibid.,  pp.  195,  220. 

*A  melancholy  record  of  the  disastrous  sojourn  of  Amelia's  company 
at  Valencia  in  this  year  has  recently  been  published  by  Henri  Merimee 
{Bulletin  Hispanique  (1906),  p.  377)  ;  the  company  came  to  grief  in  June, 
when  Amelia's  wardrobe  and  comedias  were  seized  by  one  Jeronimo 
Alfonso,  clavarius  of  the  General  Hospital  of  Valencia,  for  money  ad- 
vanced to  and  expended  in  behalf  of  Amelia.  The  document,  dated  June 
14,  1628,  declares  that  "Ego  hieronimus  Alfonso,  etc.  •  .  .  conffiteor  et  in 
veritate  recognosco  me  habere  in  commandam  et  purum  depositum  a  vobis 
Hieronymo  Amelia,  fabularum  Aucthore,  et  domna  Emanuela  Henrriques, 
vidua,  valentis  commorantibus,  presentibus,  acceptantibus,  et  vestris  pro 
tuhitione  et  securitate  quantitatum  per  me  vobis  et  pro  vobis  solutarum, 
prestitarum  et  bistractarum  raupas  et  fabulas  siue  comedias  infrascriptas 


194  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

performance,^  while  in  1637  Pedro  de  la  Rosa  gave  fifty 
representations  in  the  same  city,^  followed  by  Bartolome 
Romero  in  the  next  year,  who  likewise  gave  fifty  repre- 
sentations, "the  amount  for  each  comedia  to  be  no  less 
than  150  reals  plate. "^ 

Not  only  all  the  large  cities  of  Spain,  but  the  theaters 
of  Lisbon  also,  drew  upon  the  companies  of  the  capital. 
Of  Madrid  companies  visiting  Lisbon  I  have  found  no 
earlier  record  than  1610,  though  we  may  be  quite  certain 
that  this  was  not  their  first  advent  in  the  Portuguese 
capital.  In  that  year  the  company  of  Alonso  Riquelme 
and  Pedro  de  Villanueva  went  to  Lisbon,^  to  be  followed 
in  1 61 5  by  Pedro  de  Valdes  and  Jeronima  de  Burgos,**  and 
by  Cristobal  Ortiz  de  Villazan  in  1619,  who  agreed  with 
the  Royal  Hospital  of  All  Saints  of  Lisbon  to  go  to  the 
latter  city  and  perform  during  the  months  of  October  and 
November,  "producing  new  comedias,  bailes,  and  entre- 
meses."  Dofia  Catalina  de  Carvajal  is  named  as  the  owner 
of  the  casa  de  comedias  of  Lisbon,  and  in  the  same  year 
Pedro  Cebrian  is  to  bring  his  company  from  Madrid  and 
to  act  there  for  three  months,  beginning  on  December  i, 
1619.^  In  1639  Bartolome  Romero's  company  visited 
Lisbon,  and  in  the  same  year  they  were  followed  by  Pedro 
Ascanio  and  Antonio  de  Rueda,^  while  Romero  again  rep- 
resented in  Lisbon  from  November,  1640,  till  Shrovetide 
of  1641.^ 

We  have  several  times  had  occasion,  in  the  course  of 
these  pages,  to  mention  the  sums  received  by  a  director  and 
his  company  for  a  theatrical  performance.  This  sum,  of 
course,  not  only  varied  greatly  at  different  periods,  being 

et  inmediate  sequentes."  A  list  of  Amelia's  theatrical  costumes  follows, 
as  well  as  of  the  comedias  that  constituted  the  repertory  of  his  company. 
This  list  of  comedias,  no  less  than  seventy-two  in  number,  is  important, 
as  it  appears  to  contain  several  which  are  otherwise  unknown. 

*  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  242. 

'Ibid.,  p.  261.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  292.  *Ibid.,  p.  122. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  158.  '^  Ibid.,  p.  178.  ''Ibid.,  pp.  289,  290. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  323. 


SUM  PAID  FOR  A  PERFORMANCE      195 

much  larger  as  we  advance  further  into  the  seventeenth 
century,  but  at  one  and  the  same  period  it  depended  upon 
the  size  and  excellence  of  the  company.  A  few  examples, 
in  addition  to  those  already  cited,  may  follow  here. 

In  1593  Gabriel  Nuiiez  and  Andres  de  Naxera,  autores 
de  comedias,  agreed  to  go  to  the  village  of  Villaverde  and 
represent  a  comedia  "a  lo  divino"  and  one  "a  lo  humano," 
with  their  entremeses,  receiving  20  ducats  (=  220  reals), 
besides  traveling  expenses,  lodging,  "and  somebody  to  do 
their  cooking";^  and  In  1602  the  company  of  Luis  de 
Castro  went  to  Salvanes  to  represent  an  auto  In  the  morn- 
ing and  a  comedia  in  the  afternoon,  for  which  they  re- 
ceived 900  reals,  "besides  twelve  beds  for  the  nights  they 
may  spend  there,  a  fanega  of  wheat  baked  Into  bread,  and 
three  carts  to  take  them  from  Torrejon  to  Salvanes."^ 
It  is  very  probable  that  these  were  companies  of  the 
poorer  kind,  but  at  a  much  later  time,  in  1634,  we  find 
that  one  of  the  most  famous  directors,  Hernan  Sanchez  de 
Vargas,  played  three  comedias  at  the  town  of  Villarubia 
de  Ocafia,  receiving  2000  reals,  besides  a  sheep,  eight  hens, 
a  fanega  of  baked  bread,  and  three  arrobas  (==  about 
twelve  gallons)  of  wine.^ 

Generally  the  director's  compensation  was  In  money 
only.  In  1601  Pedro  Jimenez  de  Valenzuela  and  Gabriel 
Vaca  took  their  company  to  the  town  of  Barco  and  per- 
formed four  comedias,  with  their  entremeses,  at  a  festival, 
receiving  3450  reals.*  This  seems  to  be  a  large  sum  and 
doubtless  included  all  traveling  and  other  expenses.  In 
the  following  year  Pedro  Rodriguez,  Diego  de  Rojas,  and 
Gaspar  de  los  Reyes,  managers  of  the  company  called  La 
Compania  Espanola,  performed  in  the  same  town  two 
comedias  "a  lo  divino" :  El  Castigo  en  la  Vanagloria  and 
Los  Martires  Japones,  with  two  entremeses  each,  and  two 
comedias  "a  lo  humano"  :  El  Conde  Alarcos  and  El  Cerco 

^  Ibid.,  p.  37.  *  Ibid.,  p.  69.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  237. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  55. 


196  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

de  Cordoba,  with  two  entremeses  each,  music  and  batle,  for 
3630  reals;  no  transpbrtation  was  furnished,  but  the  "ma- 
yordomos"  of  the  village  were  to  provide  fifteen  pounds  of 
trout. ^  In  1605  Caspar  de  Porres  and  his  company  repre- 
sented on  three  consecutive  days,  also  in  Barco  de  Avila, 
the  following  four  comedias :  La  prospera  Fortuna  de  Rut 
Lopez  de  Avalos  (by  Salustio  del  Poyo)  ;  La  adversa 
Fortuna  de  Rut  Lopez  de  Avalos  ( also  by  Poyo )  ;  La  Con- 
desa  Matilda  ( Lope  de  Vega )  ;  and  either  of  the  "comedias 
divinas"  :  El  Lego  del  Carmen  or  El  Hermano  Francisco, 
and  an  entremes  with  each  comedia,  for  4200  reals. ^  In 
161 2  the  company  of  Tomas  Fernandez  went  to  Torrijos, 
and  on  June  26  and  27  represented  three  comedias,  with 
their  bailes  and  entremeses,  for  1400  reals  and  lodging  for 
sixteen  persons,  besides  six  or  eight  carts  "to  take  his  com- 
pany to  the  said  town  and  afterward  to  Toledo."^  In  1 614 
Juan  de  Morales  Medrano  agreed  to  go  to  Torrijos  with 
his  company  and  give  two  representations,  a  comedia  "alo 
divino"  in  the  morning  and  one  "a  lo  humano"  in  the  after- 
noon, with  their  bailes  and  entremeses,  for  1250  reals; 
the  comedia  to  be  La  Honra  hurtada,  "which  must  not 
have  been  represented  in  any  of  the  surrounding  towns."* 
In  1 619  Tomas  Fernandez  received  2300  reals  for  four 
comedias  performed  on  July  6  and  7.^^  In  1623  Juan  de 
Vargas  and  the  company  called  Los  Conformes  represented 
in  Leganes  the  comedia  La  Morica  garrida  of  Juan  de 
Villegas,  with  its  music,  entremeses,  and  bailes,  for  450 
reals.*  In  1634  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas  gave  four 
comedias  in  two  days  at  Santa  Cruz  de  la  Zarza  for  2500 
reals,^  and  on  the  following  day,  Sunday,  June  18,  at 
Villarubia  de  Ocafia  he  represented  two  comedias,  and  one 
on  the  succeeding  day  in  the  morning,  for  2000  reals.^  In 
1636  Pedro  de  la  Rosa  and  his  company  received  1500 

^  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  75.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  90.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  130. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  143.  '^  Ibid.,  p.  183.  'Ibid.,  p.  202. 

^^  Ibid.,  p.  236.  *  Ibid.,  p.  236. 


OCCUPET  EXTREMUM  SCABIES        197 

reals  for  representing  two  comedias  atTorrejon  de  Ardoz,^ 
and  we  find  that  down  to  about  1640,  this  was  the  usual 
amount  received  for  performing  a  comedia,  i.e.,  about  750 
reals.  Toward  the  middle  of  the  century  this  sum  rose  and 
gradually  increased  till  1660,  after  which  time  no  data  are 
available.  In  1648  Antonio  Garcia  de  Prado  gave  four 
representations  in  the  town  of  Brihuela,  for  which  he  re- 
ceived 4900  reals,2  and  in  1655  Alonso  de  la  Paz,  autor  de 
comedias,  represented  Calderon's  comedia  Santa  Maria 
Egipciaca  and  two  others  at  the  town  of  Torija  for  2850 
reals  and  lodging  for  his  company,^  while  in  1659  Diego 
Osorio  and  his  company  performed  three  comedias  and  an 
auto  in  the  villa  de  Sonseca  for  4000  reals;*  indeed,  in  the 
previous  year  this  same  director  had  received  an  even 
larger  sum,  the  largest,  in  fact,  of  which  I  find  any  record, 
when  he  represented  an  auto  and  the  comedia  La  Dama 
Corregidor,  by  Sebastian  de  Villaviciosa  and  Juan  de  Zaba- 
leta,  at  Colmenar  Viejo  on  June  23,  receiving  5200  reals, 
besides  traveling  expenses,  food,  and  lodging.** 

It  seems  that  about  this  time  the  wretched  condition  ta„ 
which  Philip  the  Fourth  had  reduced  his  country,  which 
was  now  entirely  exhausted,  and  the  universal  poverty 
and  destitution  of  the  common  people,  due  perhaps  no  less 
to  the  contempt  for  honest  labor  than  to  oppressive  taxa- 
tion, also  affected  the  theater  in  no  small  degree.  The 
King  continued  to  give  great  and  expensive  festivals  and 
comedias  at  the  palace,  besides  spending  large  sums  on 
the  yearly  autos  at  the  Corpus  festival,  although  he  was 
practically  bankrupt.  Still,  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt 
that  the  theater  was  no  longer  in  the  flourishing  condition 
in  which  it  was  prior  to  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century.    Theatrical  companies  seemed  to  be  quite  as  much 

*This  village  recently  achieved  notoriety  through  the  dastardly  attack 
made  upon  the  life  of  Alfonso  XIII.  and  his  bride  in  Madrid  on  June  i, 
1906.    The  assassin  was  killed  in  Torrejon. 

'Perez  Pastor,  Colder  on  Documentos,  Part  I,  p.  159. 

•  Ibid.,  p.  226.  *  Ibid.,  p.  262.  °  Ibid.,  p.  256. 


198  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

dependent  upon  the  King  for  support  as  they  were  upon 
the  populace.  Philip  the  Fourth  interfered  with  the  play- 
houses in  the  most  arbitrary  manner,  suddenly  command- 
ing actors  and  actresses  or  whole  companies  to  appear  at 
the  palace  for  his  own  private  festivals  or  comedias,  with- 
out notice  to  the  public.  A  comedia  would  be  advertised 
and  the  theater  filled  with  spectators,  when  a  command 
would  be  received  from  the  King  that  certain  actors  or 
actresses  in  the  play  were  to  appear  at  the  palace.  As  an 
instance  we  may  cite  the  declaration  (on  February  28, 
1658)  of  the  autor  de  comedias  Francisco  Garcia,  called 
Pupilo,  who  says  that  "there  will  be  no  representation 
to-day  of  La  Adultera  penitente,  because  at  eight  o'clock 
this  morning,  by  order  of  the  Marquis  of  Eliche,  they 
took  him  [Garcia]  to  the  Buen  Retiro  to  rehearse  the 
comedia  which  he  is  to  represent  before  his  Majesty  on 
Shrove  Tuesday,  the  title  of  which  is  Afectos  de  Odio  y 
y^wor  [by  Calderon].  .  .  .  And  they  likewise  took  away 
Isabel  de  Galvez,  Maria  de  Escamilla,  and  Manuela  de 
Escamilla  to  rehearse  another  comedia  entitled  El  Emhus- 
tero,  which  is  to  be  represented  before  his  Majesty."  And 
the  same  Francisco  Garcia  declared  on  March  4  that 
"yesterday,  being  about  to  represent  the  comedia  La 
Adultera  penitente,  and  there  being  many  people  in  the 
corral,  at  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  there  came 
an  order  from  the  Marquis  of  Eliche,  and  they  took  away 
Isabel  de  Galvez  and  Maria  and  Manuela  de  Escamilla 
and  others  of  his  company  to  the  comedia  which  is  to  be 
rehearsed  in  the  Zarzuela  for  representation  before  his 
Majesty."  ^  A  like  instance  occurred  in  the  previous  year, 
when  Francisco  Garcia  did  not  perform  on  February  10, 
and  the  Teatro  de  la  Cruz  was  closed,  "because  they  had 
taken  the  women  of  his  company  to  represent  the  comedia 
of  Lazarillo  before  his  Majesty."  ^ 

^  Perez  Pastor,  Calderon  Documentos,  Part  I,  pp.  253,  254. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  244. 


EMPTY  THEATERS  199 

An  instance  of  the  waning  popularity  of  the  theater 
may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  on  Friday,  April  30,  1660, 
Vallejo  represented  in  la  Cruz  Juan  de  Zabaleta's  comedia 
No  Amur  la  mayor  Fineza,  "never  before  seen  or  per- 
formed," and  which  we  are  told  was  a  failure  "on  account 
of  the  few  people  who  were  in  the  theater,  the  lessees  tak- 
ing but  294  reals."  "On  Saturday,  May  i,  Vallejo  did 
not  represent,  because  there  was  not  a  soul  in  the  theater," 
while  on  Sunday,  May  2,  Vallejo  again  represented  Zaba- 
leta's comedia,  when  the  lessees  had  but  203  reals.  On 
Thursday,  May  17,  Vallejo  represented  Montalban's  Los 
Amantes  de  Teruel  in  the  Teatro  del  Principe;  "the  whole 
receipts  were  given  to  him,  and  in  all  there  were  but  1 1 6 
reals  for  the  poor  company."^ 

Where  long  engagements  were  made  the  lessee  of  the 
theater  generally  guaranteed  to  the  director  of  the  com- 
pany a  certain  amount  daily  as  an  ayuda  de  costa,  besides 
which  he  received  a  share  of  the  receipts.  In  one  instance, 
in  1623,  when  the  company  of  Cristobal  de  Avendano 
gave  fifty  representations  in  Valencia,  he  received  40 
ducats  [=440  reals]  for  each  performance,  besides  an 
advance  payment  of  1000  ducats. ^  The  largest  sum  re- 
corded as  having  been  received  by  an  autor  de  comedias 
is  1000  reals  for  each  of  sixty  performances  at  the  Coliseo 
in  Seville,  which  was  paid  to  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas 
in  1619.^  If  the  company  was  inferior  the  remuneration 
of  the  manager  was,  of  course,  correspondingly  low,  as 
when  Juan  de  Peiialosa  in  1636  represented  the  two 
famous  comedias  Casa  con  dos  Puertas  mala  es  de  guar- 
dar,  by  Calderon,  and  Nunca  mucho  costo  poco,  by  Lope 
de  Vega,  for  loo  reals,  besides  traveling  expenses.^  A 
company  must  surely  have  been  in  desperate  straits  to  act 
for  such  a  small  sum. 


^  Ibid.,  pp.  27  s,  276. 

'  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  195. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  177.  *Ibid.,  p.  256. 


200  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

For  the  production  of  the  autos  sacramentales  at  the 
festival  of  Corpus  ChristI  a  much  larger  amount  was  paid 
to  the  managers  of  companies  than  was  paid  for  the  per- 
formance of  a  comedia.  This  was  not  only  on  account  of 
the  length  of  the  festival,  but  also  because  of  the  greater 
expense  which  had  to  be  incurred  for  costumes  and  other 
accessories,  though  the  carros  were  at  the  expense  of  the 
municipality.  As  early  as  1599  ( and  doubtless  there  were 
earlier  instances)  it  is  expressly  stipulated  in  the  agree- 
ments made  with  autores  de  comedias  for  the  representa- 
tion of  autos  that  no  other  company  except  the  one  so 
chosen  shall  have  the  right  to  perform  in  Madrid  from 
Easter  until  Corpus.^ 

In  1578  Alonso  de  Cisneros  represented  three  autos 
in  Madrid,  for  which  he  received  3300  reals,  besides  275 
reals  for  drawing  the  carts  from  place  to  place. ^  In  1592 
Caspar  de  Porres  received  600  ducats  [=  6600  reals] 
for  representing  the  autos  entitled  Job  and  Santa  Catalina 
at  the  Corpus  festival  at  Madrid  in  that  year.^  In  1606 
the  four  autos  were  represented  in  Madrid  by  the  com- 
panies of  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano  andBaltasarPinedo, 
each  representing  two  autos,  for  which  each  director  re- 
ceived 650  ducats.^  In  1609  the  companies  of  Domingo 
Balbin  and  Alonso  de  Heredia  performed  two  autos  each 
at  Corpus  in  Madrid  for  600  ducats,^  and  in  16 10  Alonso 
Riquelme  agreed  to  represent  two  autos  at  the  festival  of 
Corpus  of  that  year  "on  Thursday  and  Friday  until  twelve 
o'clock  at  night  in  such  places  as  may  be  designated,  re- 


^"5  Abril  1599. — Obligacion  de  Caspar  de  Porres,  autor  de  comedias 
(fiador  Jeronimo  Lopez)  de  hacer  dos  autos  para  la  fiesta  del  Corpus  con 
sus  entremeses,  con  condicion  de  que  desde  resurreccion  hasta  el  Corpus 
no  ban  de  traer  a  esta  Villa  otra  compania  sino  es  la  suya."  (Perez 
Pastor,  Nueatos  Datos,  p.  49.)  And  in  1627,  when  Roque  de  Figueroa  and 
Andres  de  la  Vega  represented  autos  in  Madrid,  we  read:  "Es  declaracion 
que  no  se  ha  de  permitir  trabajar  a  otro  autor  en  Madrid  desde  fin  de 
Cuaresma  hasta  pasado  el  Corpus."     {Bull.  Hisp.  (1908),  p.  254.) 

^  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  11.        ^  Ibid.,  p.  31.        *  Bull.  Hisp.  (1907),  p.  37.:. 

^  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  112. 


SUM  FOR  REPRESENTING  AUTOS      201 

ceiving  for  the  said  autos  with  their  entremeses  600 
ducats."^  The  same  sum  was  received  by  Hernan  San- 
chez de  Vargas  for  representing  the  other  two  autos  in 
this  year.  In  fact,  600  ducats  was  the  amount  paid  to 
every  theatrical  director  for  representing  two  autos  at 
Corpus  in  Madrid  down  to  the  year  1637.  In  161 5  the 
autos  at  Madrid  were  given  by  the  companies  of  Pedro  de 
Valdes  and  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas,  and  it  was  stipu- 
lated that  "before  Corpus  no  other  company  was  to  repre- 
sent in  Madrid  except  these  two,"^  and  in  1617,  when 
Cristobal  de  Leon  performed  them,  it  was  agreed  that  he 
should  represent  two  autos  at  Corpus  on  Thursday  "from 
two  in  the  afternoon  till  twelve  at  night  and  on  Friday 
from  six  in  the  morning  until  noon,  in  such  places  as  may 
be  assigned  to  him,"^  while  when  Pedro  de  Valdes  repre- 
sented the  autos  in  1 621,  he  was  to  give  them  on  Thursday 
from  two  in  the  afternoon  till  twelve  at  night  and  on 
Friday  from  six  in  the  morning  until  midnight.^  In  1632 
they  were  performed  by  Manuel  Vallejo's  company,  who 
received  600  ducats  "for  the  two  days,  and  if  they  should 
represent  on  the  Saturday  after  Corpus  he  is  to  receive 
1000  reals,  or  100  ducats,  and  besides  an  100  ducats 
gratuity,  obliging  himself  to  pay  the  half  of  the  100 
ducats  which  he  receives  to  the  ganapanes  who  draw  the 
carts. "^  In  1637  the  companies  of  Pedro  de  la  Rosa  and 
Tomas  Fernandez  Cabredo  received  800  ducats  each  for 
the  Corpus  festival  at  Madrid,*'  and  the  same  sum  was 
paid  to  Rueda  and  Ascanio  in  1638,  and  to  Bartolome 
Romero  for  two  autos  in  1640.^  This  latter  document  is 
dated  March  14,  1640.  On  the  other  hand,  a  document 
dated  March  12,  1640,  states  that  Bartolome  Romero 
was  to  receive  950  ducats  "for  half  the  festival  of  Cor- 
pus," i.e.,  for  two  autos,  the  other  two  autos  being  given 

^ Ibid.,  p.  117.  "Ibid.,  p.  156.  '  Ibid.,  p.  i6i. 

*Ibid.,  p.  188.  ^ Ibid.,  p.  224.  ''Ibid.,  pp.  266,  269. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  322 


202  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

by  the  companies  of  Luis  Lopez  de  Sustaete  and  Damian 
Arias  de  Pefiafiel  "under  the  same  conditions."^  In  1645 
each  company  received  925  ducats  for  two  autos,^  and  in 
1655  ^^^  companies  of  Diego  Osorio  and  Francisca  Ver- 
dugo,  widow  of  Riquelme,  each  represented  two  autos  at 
Madrid,  receiving  10,750  reals,  or  about  975  ducats.^ 

After  1658  only  two  autos  were  represented  each  year 
in  Madrid  at  Corpus.  In  1660  they  were  entitled  La  Paz 
universal  {El  Lirio  y  la  Azucena)  and  El  Diablo  mudo, 
both  written  by  Calderon,  and  they  were  acted  by  the  com- 
panies of  Diego  Osorio  and  Jeronimo  Vallejo,  who  re- 
ceived 950  ducats  each,  which  amount  was  paid  until  the 
death  of  Philip  the  Fourth.^ 

Concerning  the  receipts  of  a  theatrical  performance, 
something  has  already  been  said.*^  About  1575,  before 
either  of  the  permanent  theaters  of  Madrid  were  built, 
the  profits  of  a  representation  in  one  of  the  corrales  were 
from  140  or  160  to  200  reals.  This  was  the  sum  received 
by  the  hospitals  to  which  the  corrales  belonged,  exclusive 
of  the  share  of  the  autor  de  comedias  and  his  company.* 
On  February  8,  1580,  when  Juan  Granados  was  repre- 
senting in  one  of  the  corrales  of  Madrid,  he  contributed 
his  share  of  the  profits  of  the  performance  toward  defray- 
ing the  expenses  of  the  new  Corral  de  la  Cruz.  This 
share  amounted  to  200  reals  vellonJ  And  Alonso  de 
Cisneros,  not  to  be  outdone  in  generosity  by  his  rival, 
contributed  the  proceeds  of  a  performance  on  October  19, 
1580,  to  the  same  purpose.  His  share,  which  was  the 
money  paid  at  the  door  (entrada),  was  233  reals,  while 

'Perez  Pastor,  Calderon  Documentos,  Vol.  I,  p.  121. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  126.  *  Ibid.,  p.  238. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  269  et  passim. 

*  See  above,  pp.  31,  +1,  56. 
'Pellicer,  Histrionismo,  I,  p.  56. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  60.  According  to  Perez  Pastor,  it  was  Cisneros  who  repre- 
sented on  that  day  in  the  Cruz,  "y  dio  para  a^nida  dc  costa  del  corral  200 
reales  que  le  correspondian  de  su  aprovechamiento  como  autor."  {Bulle- 
tin Hispanique  (1906),  p.  77.) 


THE  THEATERS  OF  SEVILLE  203 

the  deputies  of  the  brotherhoods  received  174  reals. ^  It 
thus  appears  that  at  this  time  the  total  receipts  of  a  per- 
formance varied  from  about  350  to  450  reals  vellon. 
About  three  years  after  this,  in  1583,  "on  some  occasions" 
the  hospitals  realized  as  much  as  300  reals  as  their  share 
of  a  single  performance.^  On  February  10,  1586,  Jero- 
nimo  Velazquez  gave  a  representation  to  which  women 
only  were  admitted,^  which  realized  760  reals,  the  charge 
being  one  real  for  each  person.  From  a  representation 
given  on  August  10,  1603,  the  share  of  the  brotherhoods 
was  282  reals.^ 

The  theaters  of  Seville  furnish  interesting  information 
upon  this  point.  We  learn  that  from  April  3,  161 1,  to 
February  4,  1614,  five  hundred  and  twenty-six  representa- 
tions of  comedias  were  given  in  that  city:  two  hundred 
and  sixty-eight  in  Dona  Elvira  and  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight  in  the  Coliseo.  During  this  period  of  nearly  three 
years  the  city  received  as  its  share  of  the  takings  of  the 
theaters  53,346  reals,  or  a  little  over  loi  reals  for  each 
representation.^  As  the  city's  portion  consisted  of  eight 
maravedis  from  each  person  who  entered  the  theater,  we 
find  that  the  average  attendance  at  these  popular  theaters 
during  this  period,  when  the  drama  was  at  its  height,  was 
about  431.  We  have  seen  above  (p.  ^S)  that  in  1622 
in  Seville  the  average  number  of  persons  who  paid  an 
admission  to  the  theater  was  350.  Indeed,  the  renting  of 
the  corrales  in  Seville  seems  frequently  to  have  been  a 
losing  speculation  for  the  lessees,  and  as  early  as  161 9 

^  "Valid  el  aprovechamiento  de  la  entrada  de  la  puerta,  que  pertenecia 
al  dicho  Cisneros,  233  reales  .  .  .  y  para  las  Cofradias  hubo  aquel  dia  de 
entramos  tablados  (gradas),  corredor  (de  las  mugeres),  y  ventanas  {apo- 
sentos)  174  reales."  (Pellicer,  I,  p.  61.)  That  Cisneros  represented  on 
October  18  is  confirmed  by  Perez  Pastor,  Bull.  Hisp.  (1906),  p.  77. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  76. 

*  See  above,  p.  43. 

*  "De  las  mugeres  =  97  rs. ;  de  los  hombres  =  ii9  rs. ;  de  las  ventanas  = 
48  rs. ;  de  las  celosias  y  sillas=i8  rs.,  =  282  reals."  (Pellicer,  Histrio- 
nismo,  I,  p.  85.) 

"  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  147. 


204  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

we  find  that  "comedias  have  reached  such  a  point  In  this 
city  [Seville],  that  very  few  people  come  to  see  them,  and 
all  autores  or  managers  of  companies  who  visit  the  city 
leave  it  in  debt  and  ruined."^ 

As  regards  the  rental  paid  for  the  corrales,  we  have, 
for  the  early  period  at  least,  some  definite  information. 
On  May  5,  1568,  Jeronimo  Velazquez  began  to  represent 
in  one  of  the  corrales  of  Madrid  and  paid  6  reals  for 
each  day  that  he  gave  a  performance.^  In  1574  the 
Italian,  Ganassa,  paid  10  reals  per  day  for  the  rent  of  the 
Corral  de  la  Pacheca,^  and  in  1583  Antonio  Vazquez  and 
Juan  de  Avila,  who  performed  in  the  Corral  del  Principe, 
also  paid  a  daily  rental  of  10  reals.^  It  seems  that  for 
the  year  1579  the  sum  of  6000  maravedis  was  paid  for 
the  rental  of  the  Corral  de  Puente.^ 

For  a  number  of  years  following  1583  we  have  no 
information,  but  it  appears  that  even  prior  to  1600  the 
brotherhoods  had  sublet  various  privileges.  In  1602  the 
bancos  and  ventanas  of  the  two  Madrid  theaters  were  let 
to  Alonso  and  Juan  Estebanez.  Afterward,  instead  of  a 
partial  renting,  the  deputies  of  the  brotherhoods  deter- 
mined upon  a  total  rental.  This  began  in  161 5,  accord- 
ing to  Pellicer,  when  the  two  corrales  were  rented  to  Juan 
de  Escobedo  for  two  years  for  27,000  ducats,  and  at  the 
expiration  of  this  lease,  in  161 7,  to  Matias  Gonzalez  for 
four  years  for  105,000  ducats,  and  in  1621  to  Luis  Mon- 
zon,  Gabriel  de  la  Torre,  and  Gabriel  Gonzalez,  also  for 
the  term  of  four  years,  for  106,500  ducats,  beginning  on 
St.  John's  day  of  that  year  and  ending  in  1625.  The  two 
theaters  were  then  leased  to  Francisco  de  Alegria  from 
1629  to  1633,  for  115,400  ducats,  and  for  the  four  fol- 
lowing years  to  Juan  de  la  Serna  y  Haro  for  100,700 

^  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  197. 

'Pellicer,  I,  p.  48.  "Ibid.,  p.  54.  *  Ibid.,  p.  69. 

^Bulletin  Hispanique  (1906),  p.  77.  This  sura  is  almost  incredibly 
small,  less  than  200  reals,  while  there  were  at  least  fifty  representations 
in  the  corral  during  that  year.     {Ibid.,  pp.  73-75-) 


THE  RENTAL  OF  THE  CORRALES     205 

ducats.^  These  amounts  are  very  large  compared  with 
the  rentals  of  the  Seville  theaters.  In  1585  the  rent  of 
the  Huerta  de  la  Alcoba  was  450  ducats  yearly.  In  161 1 
that  of  the  Coliseo  was  2250  ducats,  which  was  reduced 
to  2000  ducats  in  1622,  though  even  at  this  figure  it  was 
a  losing  enterprise  for  the  lessee,  as  it  was  shown  to  be 
worth  only  about  1600  ducats. ^  That  the  leasing  of  the 
Madrid  theaters  was  not  always  profitable  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that,  on  the  death  of  Francisco  'de  Alegria  (see 
above),  his  widow,  Dona  Juana  Gonzalez  Carpio,  de- 
clared in  a  petition  that  her  husband  had  not  only  left  her 
without  means  to  support  herself  and  her  four  children, 
but  that  he  had  also  dissipated  a  large  part  of  her  dowry .^ 

^  Pelliccr,  Histrionismo,  I,  pp.  96,  97,  who  gives  the  conditions  of  Luis 
Monzon's  lease,  ibid.,  pp.  98  ff.  I  do  not  understand  the  statements  in 
Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  pp.  82,  iii,  123,  129,  134,  141,  and  158.  The 
latter,  for  instance,  reads:  "Arrendamiento  de  los  corrales  de  comedias 
de  la  Cruz  y  del  Principe,  desde  Carnestolendas  de  161 5  k  Carnestolendas 
de  i6i6,  hecho  por  Cristobal  Lopez  en  900  ducados  por  tercios  [i.e.,  in 
three  paynaents].  Madrid,  7  Abril  1615."  The  amount  of  the  rent,  more- 
over, is  so  low  that  the  persons  mentioned  were  probably  sublessees  of 
some  privilege;  in  1609  the  sum  specified  is  only  400  ducats.     {Ibid.,  ^.iii.) 

*Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  pp.  72,  148,  222. 

*Pellicer,  I,  p.  98. 


CHAPTER  X 

Character  of  the  actors  and  actresses.  Decrees  regulating  theatrical 
performances.  The  opposition  of  churchmen.  Decrees  of  1598, 
1600,  1603,  1608,  and  1 61 5  for  the  reformation  of  comedias. 

Despite  the  hardships  endured  by  companies  of  strolling 
players,  they  seem  never  to  have  had  any  difficulty  in  re- 
cruiting their  ranks.  Looked  at  askance  in  every  town 
and  hamlet,  and  often  threatened  at  the  village  gates  as 
perverters  of  the  public  morals  and  promoters  of  idleness, 
there  were  still,  at  all  times,  many  to  whom  this  life  made 
a  strong  appeal.  Though  under  the  ban  of  the  church  and 
denied  civil  rights  for  centuries,  the  followers  of  Thespis 
have  continued  to  flourish  and  increase,  so  potent  has  been 
the  glamour  of  the  stage  and  so  alluring  the  love  of  a 
wandering  life.  Even  amid  the  trials  and  tribulations  so 
graphically  described  by  Agustin  de  Rojas,  their  numbers 
in  Spain  steadily  multiplied,  and  with  the  increase  in  num- 
bers the  growing  license  of  the  stage  kept  pace.  We  have 
already  mentioned  the  lascivious  dances,  like  the  "pestif- 
erous Zarahanda,"  the  Chacona,  Escarraman,  and  others 
which,  making  their  appearance  about  1588,  became 
one  of  the  most  powerful  attractions  of  the  comedla. 
Urged  on  by  the  applause  of  the  dreaded  mosquetero 
and  of  the  dissolute  "noble,"  these  dances  were  car- 
ried to  a  point  which  sorely  tried  the  conservers  of  the 
public  morals,  which  latter  were  by  no  means  exalted  In 
that  not  over-scrupulous  age. 

The  dissoluteness  of  the  actresses,  who  were  frequently 
disguised  as  men  upon  the  stage,  and  the  dangerous  Influ- 

206 


WOMEN  FORBIDDEN  TO  ACT  207 

ence  of  these  performances  upon  a  people  among  whom 
the  craze  for  theatrical  representations  had  become  uni- 
versal, caused  a  few  eminent  theologians,  in  1587,  to  step 
into  the  breach  and  attempt  to  stem  the  tide  that  was 
sweeping  everything  before  it.  They  failed,  as  we  have 
seen,  for  the  indecent  songs  and  dances,  which  the  govern- 
ment made  a  feeble  effort  to  suppress,  were  succeeded  by 
others  not  more  decorous,  and  the  result  was  that  in  1596 
women  were  forbidden  "to  act  in  the  said  comedias."* 
Whether  this  prohibition  was  ever  enforced,  however,  is 
open  to  serious  doubt;  at  all  events,  the  death  of  Princess 
Catharine,  Duchess  of  Savoy  and  sister  of  Philip  the 
Third,  on  November  6,  1597,  offered  an  opportunity  for 
putting  a  stop  to  the  comedia,  and  the  King  accordingly 
commanded  the  theaters  of  Madrid  to  be  closed. 

The  churchmen  and  other  opponents  of  the  theater 
took  advantage  of  this  suspension  of  theatrical  representa- 
tions to  renew  the  question  of  suppressing  them  perma- 
nently. The  King  submitted  the  matter  to  a  council  of 
three  theologians,  who,  after  prolonged  discussion,  finally 
decided  against  the  theaters,  and  the  King  concurring  in 
this  "consulta  theologica,"^  a  royal  rescript  was  issued 
on  May  2,  1598,  declaring  that  thenceforth  no  come- 
dias  should  be  represented.     Among  other  evils  attrib- 

^  See  above,  p.  145. 

'The  following  is  the  text  of  this  consulta,  as  given  by  Schack,  and 
which  is  contained  in  a  MS.  in  the  Royal  Acadenay  of  History:  "Consulta 
que  hizieron  a  S.  M.  el  Rey  D.  Felipe  II  Garcia  de  Loaysa,  Fray  Diego  de 
Yepes  y  Fray  Caspar  de  Cordoba  sobre  las  Comedias."  After  recommend- 
ing the  complete  suppression  of  the  comedia,  they  say:  "Destas  represen- 
taciones  y  comedias  se  sigue  otro  gravisimo  dano  y  es  que  la  gente  se  da 
al  ocio,  deleytes  y  regalo,  y  se  divierte  de  la  milicia,  y  con  los  bailes 
deshonestos  que  cada  dia  inventan  estos  faranduleros  y  con  las  fiestas, 
banquetes  y  comedias  se  haze  la  gente  de  Espana  muelle  y  afeminada  e 
inhabil  para  las  cosas  de  travajo  y  guerra. —  .  .  .  Pues  siendo  esto  asi  y 
teniendo  V.  Mgd.  tan  precisa  necesidad  de  hazer  guerra  a  los  enemigos  de 
la  fe  y  apercebirnos  para  ella,  bien  se  vee  quan  mal  aparejo  es  para  las 
armas  el  use  tan  ordinario  de  las  comedias  que  aora  se  representan  en 
Espana.  Y  a  juizio  de  personas  prudentes,  si  el  Turco  o  xarife  o  Rey  de 
Inglaterra  quisieran  buscar  una  invencion  eficaz  para  arruinarnos  y 
destruirnos,  no  la  hallaran  mejor  que  la  destos  faranduleros,  pues  a  guisa 


2o8  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

utable  to  comedias,  according  to  this  consulta,  was  "that 
they  fostered  habits  of  idleness  and  pleasure-seeking  in  the 
people  and  turned  their  minds  from  warlike  pursuits; 
that  the  banquets,  festivals,  and  comedias  were  rendering 
the  Spanish  people  effeminate  and  unfit  for  the  hardships 
of  war,  and  that  the  King,  being  obliged  to  wage  war 
against  the  enemies  of  the  faith,  was  ill  prepared,  as  a 
result  of  the  comedias  as  they  are  now  represented  in 
Spain.  That,  in  the  judgment  of  prudent  persons,  if  the 
Turk  or  the  King  of  England  wished  to  seek  an  efficient 
device  to  ruin  and  destroy  the  Spanish  nation,  he  could 
find  none  better  than  that  of  these  players,"  etc. 

This  recommendation  of  the  council  of  theologians  was 
followed,  as  just  stated,  by  a  royal  decree  prohibiting  the 
representation  of  comedias.  Perez  Pastor  states  that  the 
King  called  this  consulta  of  theologians  at  the  instance  of 
D.  Pedro  de  Castro,  Archbishop  of  Granada,  who  had 
represented  to  his  Majesty  the  harm  resulting  from  these 
representations.  This  is  borne  out  by  the  only  text  of  the 
decree  of  May  2,  1598,  directed  to  the  Corregidor  of 
Granada,  which  has  only  lately  been  discovered.^  That  this 
prohibition  was  not  intended  to  be  permanent  is  evinced 

de  unos  manosos  ladrones  abrazando  matan  y  atosigan  con  el  sabor  y 
gusto  de  lo  que  representan,  y  hazen  mugeriles  y  floxos  los  corazones  de 
nuestros  Espanoles,  para  que  no  sigan  la  guerra  o  sean  inutiles  para  los 
trabajos  y  exercicios  della."  {Geschichte  der  dramatischen  Literatur  und 
Kunst  in  Spanien,  Vol.  Ill,  Nachtrdge,  pp.  28,  29.) 

^  Bibliografia  Madrileha,  Part  I,  Madrid,  1891,  p.  308.  The  text  of  this 
royal  provision  is:  "Don  Phelipe,  por  la  gracia  de  Dios,  etc  ....  A  vos  el 
nuestro  Corregidor  de  la  ciudad  de  Granada:  Sepades  que  Nos  fuimos 
informados  que  en  nuestros  reinos  hay  muchos  hombres  y  mugeres  que 
andan  en  Companias  y  tienen  por  oficio  representar  comedias  y  no  tienen 
otro  alguno  de  que  sustentarse,  de  que  se  siguen  inconvenientes  de  gran 
consideracion.  Y  visto  por  los  de  nuestro  Consejo  fue  acordado  que  de- 
biamos  mandar  dar  esta  nuestra  Carta  para  vos  en  la  dicha  razon.  E 
Nos  tuvimoslo  por  bien;  por  lo  qual  os  mandamos  que,  por  ahora,  no 
consintais,  ni  deis  lugar  que  en  esa  Ciudad  ni  su  tierra,  las  dichas  Com- 
panias representen  en  los  lugares  publicos  destinados  para  ello,  ni  en  casas 
particulares,  ni  en  otra  parte  alguna;  y  no  fagades  ende  al  so  pena  de  la 
nuestra  merced.  Dada  en  la  Villa  de  Madrid,  en  2  de  Mayo  de  1598.** 
(Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  p.  620.) 


THE  DECREE  OF  1598  209 

by  Its  very  words.  It  commands  that  the  Corregidor  of 
Granada  "for  the  present  ("por  ahora")  shall  not  consent 
or  permit  In  the  said  city  or  its  neighborhood  the  said  com- 
panies to  represent  in  the  public  places  destined  for  that 
purpose,  nor  in  private  houses,  nor  in  any  other  place 
whatever." 

This  decree  was  doubtless  intended  primarily  to  apply 
to  Madrid,^  though  I  have  been  unable  to  find  the  text 
which  refers  to  the  theaters  of  the  capital.  The  theaters 
of  Madrid  were,  however,  closed,  but  only  for  a  short"*"" 
time,  for  in  the  course  of  the  same  year  in  which  the 
decree  was  Issued,  the  city  sent  a  petition  to  the  King 
requesting  its  revocation,  which  petition  has  been  pre- 
served. In  this  Memorial  the  various  reasons  are 
set  forth  why  comedias  should  again  be  permitted  in 
Madrid,  stating  among  other  things  that  if  excesses 
exist  in  the  comedias,  they  can  readily  be  removed; 
that  comedias  had  been  represented  in  the  time  of  the 
King  and  of  his  predecessors,  and  that  they  were  per- 
mitted and  favored  in  all  well-Instituted  commonwealths; 
that  the  comedia  Is  "an  example,  notice,  portrait, 
mirror,  model,  doctrine,  and  warning  of  life,  whereby 
prudent  and  docile  men  may  restrain  their  passions,  flee 
vices,  elevate  their  thoughts,  and  learn  virtues  by  demon- 
stration, for  all  these  are  to  be  found  In  the  comedia, 
whence  it  follows  that  more  may  be  apprehended  by  the 

*  It  is  very  probable  that  the  closing  of  the  theaters  in  Madrid  in  1598 
was  also  due,  in  no  small  degree,  to  the  prevalence  of  the  pest  in  that 
city.  This  is  shown  by  the  following  work  published  in  Madrid  in  that 
year:  Breve  Tratado  de  Peste,  con  sus  causas,  senales  y  curacion:  y  de  lo 
que  al  presente  corre  en  esta  villa  de  Madrid,  y  sus  contornos.  Compuesto 
por  el  Doctor  Antonio  Perez  Medico  y  Cirujano  de  su  Magestad.  .  .  .  En 
Madrid,  Por  Luis  Sanchez.  Ano  MDXCVIII.  In  his  dedication  he  states 
that  he  had  undertaken  to  attend  "assi  a  la  formacion  de  la  casa  y  hospi- 
tal, para  recoger  los  que  por  esta  villa  huuiese  tocados  deste  mal,  como  a 
la  cura  dellos,  dando  noticia  a  V.  m.  y  al  sefior  Corregidor  don  Rodrigo 
del  Aguila,  dos  veces  en  la  semana,  de  lo  que  passa,"  etc.  (Perez  Pastor, 
Bibliografia  Madrilena,  Part  I,  p.  312.)  Perez  Pastor  {ibid.,  p.  308) 
terms  it  "mal  de  secas  que  en  la  epoca  se  padecia  en  Madrid." 


210  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

eyes  than  may  be  taught  by  the  understanding.  There 
is  represented  the  happy  end  of  the  just  king,  the  reward 
of  virtue,  the  importance  of  prudence,"  etc.  That  those 
who  visit  the  comedia  may  be  reduced  to  two  classes:  the 
idle  and  vicious,  and  the  virtuous  and  occupied,  and  the 
comedia  does  not  make  the  former  worse  nor  the  latter 
less  good  {menos  buenos),  for  to  the  one  it  serves  as  a 
bridle  and  restraint  upon  their  vices,  and  to  the  others  as 
a  spur  to  virtue  and  labor,  of  which  both  will  be  deprived 
if  comedias  be  suppressed  entirely.  The  most  urgent 
reason  assigned  is  that  three  or  four  of  the  largest  hospi- 
tals of  the  city  are  supported  by  the  comedia,  the  General 
Hospital  receiving  in  each  year  more  than  8000  ducats. 
Another  reason  is  that,  comedias  in  Spain  being  always 
written  in  verse,  the  actor  is  thereby  prevented  from 
interpolating  anything  he  chooses ;  he  is  obliged  to  speak 
what  the  poet  has  written,  etc.  Lastly  and  strangely 
enough,  it  recites  that  comedias  had  not  been  prohibited 
elsewhere  "in  these  kingdoms."^ 

It  is  probable  that  this  protest  was  originated  by  the 
directors  of  the  hospitals  of  Madrid,  who  thus  saw  the 
chief  source  of  their  income  cut  off.  Still,  this  Memorial 
was  unavailing  for  the  moment,  though  the  King  seems 
to  have  been  willing  that  the  theaters  should  be  reopened, 
and  an  edict  had  been  prepared  to  that  effect,  but  his 
confessor,  Fray  Diego  de  Yepes,  opposed  it  so  strenuously 
that  the  order  was  revoked.^ 

Finding  the  King  on  their  side,  the  overseers  of  the 
hospitals,  we  may  feel  sure,  did  not  relax  their  efforts  to 
secure  the  repeal  of  a  law  which  stifled  them  out  of  exis- 

^  Memorial  de  la  Villa  de  Madrid  pidiendo  al  Rey  Felipe  II.  que  se 
abriesen  los  teatros,  cerrados  por  la  muerte  de  la  Infanta  D"  Catalina, 
Duquesa  de  Saboya,  Madrid,  1598.  Printed  in  full  in  Perez  Pastor,  Biblio- 
grajia  Madrilena,  Part  I,  p.  304.  o 

^  This  information  is  furnished  by  Cabrera,  Relaciones,  etc.,  p.  5,  where 
we  find  the  following  entry:  "Madrid,  16  de  Enero  1599.  Habiase  pro- 
veido  a  instancia  de  los  hospitales,  que  se  representasen  comedias,  por  la 
mucha   necesidad  que   padecian   los   pobres  sin  el   socorro   que   desto   les 


THE  CORRALES  OPEN  AGAIN  211 

tence.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  on  March  10,  1599,  the 
town  council  of  Madrid  resolved  to  send  Sr.  Gregorio  de 
Paz  to  Valencia,  where  the  King  then  was,  to  present  to 
his  Majesty,  on  the  part  of  the  city,  a  memorial  begging 
permission  to  have  the  city  decked  in  the  customary  man- 
ner for  the  reception  of  the  Queen,  and  also  that  the  King 
be  pleased  to  permit  comedias  and  public  representations.^ 
So  strongly  did  this  petition  move  Philip  the  Third  that  he 
overruled  the  objections  of  his  confessor,  and  on  April  17, 
1599,  comedias  were  again  allowed  to  be  played  in  the 
tHeaters  of  the  kingdom. ^ 

On  the  following  day  Philip  the  Third  was  betrothed  to 
the  Archduchess  Margaret  at  Valencia,  and  during  these 
festivities  an  allegorical  auto  by  Lope  de  Vega,  entitled 
Las  Bodas  del  Alma  con  el  Amor  divino,^  was  represented 
in  one  of  the  public  squares  of  Valencia. 

With  this  decree,  however,  the  opponents  of  the  thea- 
ter, among  whom  the  most  influential  was  Don  Pedro  de 
Castro,  Archbishop  of  Granada,  were  not  satisfied.  They 
insisted  upon  the  evil  effects  of  the  plays,  and  especially 
of  the  dances  then  in  vogue  upon  the  stage.  Accordingly, 
in  April,  1600,  a  council,  consisting  of  four  of  the  King's 
Council,  four  theologians,  and  Fray  Gaspar  de  Cordoba, 

venia,  pero  el  Confesor  de  S.  M.  lo  ha  resistido  de  manera  que  se  ha 
mandado  revocar  la  orden  dada." 

^"Acuerdo  de  lo  de  Marzo  de  1599: — Que  el  Sr.  Gregorio  de  Paz  vaya 
i  la  cludad  de  Valencia  a  llevar  a  S.  M.  de  parte  desta  Villa  un  memorial 
suplicandole  de  licencia  a  esta  Villa  para  que  para  el  recibimiento  de  la 
Reyna  nuestra  senora  se  pueda  vestir  como  es  acostumbrado  y  para  que 
se  sirva  dar  licencia  para  que  haya  comedias  y  representaciones  publicas. 
— Acuerdos  del  Ayuntamiento  de  Madrid,  to  24,  fo  i6."  Sr.  Perez  Pastor 
adds:  "En  este  ano  se  dejo  (sesion  de  8  de  Enero)  para  despues  el  nom- 
brar  las  comisiones  de  Autos,  danzas  y  toros."     {Nuevos  Datos,  p.  49.) 

'"Madrid,  a  17  de  Abril  1599: — Tambien  se  ha  dado  licencia  para  que 
de  aqui  adelante  se  hagan  comedias  en  los  teatros  como  las  solia  haber, 
las  quales  dizen  que  se  comenzaran  a  representar  desde  el  lunes."  (Ca- 
brera, Relaciones,  etc.,  p.  18.) 

"Published  in  his  Peregrino  en  su  Patria,  Seville,  1604,  fols.  86-108.  The 
memorial  of  Alonso  de  Cisneros  printed  by  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos, 
p.  348,  requesting  that  he  be  allowed  to  meet  the  new  Queen  with  his  com- 
pany and  to  perform  on  the  way,  doubtless  refers  to  this  event. 


212  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

the  King's  confessor,  was  called^  to  determine  what  re- 
strictions were  to  be  imposed  upon  the  theater,  or  rather 
to  formulate  the  conditions  under  which  comedias  might 
be  represented.  The  opinion  of  the  theologians  was  that 
"the  comedias,  as  they  had  been  represented  up  to  that 
time  and  as  they  were  then  performed  in  the  theaters, 
with  the  sayings,  actions,  gestures,  bailes,  and  vulgar  and 
lascivious  dances,  were  unlawful  and  that  it  is  a  mortal 
sin  to  represent  them."  They  resolved  that  the  conditions 
under  which  comedias  might  be  represented  were  the  fol- 
lowing :  ( I )  That  the  subject-matter  of  the  comedia  be 
not  evil  or  licentious,  and  that  all  immodest  dances,  say- 
ings, and  gestures  be  eliminated,  as  well  from  the  come- 
dias as  from  the  entremeses.  (2)  That  the  many 
companies  of  players  be  reduced  to  four,  which  companies 
alone  shall  be  licensed  to  represent  comedias.  (3)  That 
women  should  not  in  any  circumstances  be  permitted  on 
the  stage,  nor  should  monks  or  prelates  visit  the  theaters; 
and  if  boys  play  female  characters,  wearing  women's  at- 
tire, they  must  not  appear  rouged  and  must  bear  them- 
selves with  due  modesty.  (4)  That  no  representations 
shall  take  place  in  Lent,  nor  on  the  Sundays  in  Advent, 
nor  on  the  first  day  of  the  three  Pasquas;  nor  may  any 
company  remain  in  any  town  more  than  one  month  in  each 
year,  nor  may  two  companies  play  at  the  same  time,  and 
in  the  said  month  they  may  play  only  three  days  in  each 
week — on  Sunday  and  on  two  other  days — which  should 

^Pellicer,  Histrionismo,  Vol.  I,  p.  151.  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias, 
p.  208,  says  it  was  the  Duke  of  Lerma  who  was  favorable  to  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  comedia  and  who  desired  this  commission  to  be  appointed, 
the  text  of  which,  directed  to  one  of  the  King's  Council,  the  Licentiate 
Bohorques,  is  as  follows:  "Su  Magestad  ha  mandado  que  quatro  de  su 
Consejo  se  junten  con  quatro  teologos  en  el  aposento  del  P.  Confesor 
[Fr.  Caspar  de  Cordoba]  para  conferir  y  ajustar  la  forma  en  que  se 
pueden  pcrmitir  las  comedias.  Uno  de  los  senalados  es  Vm.  y  el  P.  Con- 
fesor avisar^  el  dia  en  que  se  hubiese  de  hacer  la  junta.  De  Casa,  19  de 
Abril  de  1600."  This  Council,  Sr.  Cotarelo  says,  could  not  agree,  and  it 
was  finally  increased  to  include  eleven  theologians  who  formulated  the 
dictamen. 


THE  DECREE  OF  1600  213 

be  feast-days,  when  there  are  any.  (5)  That  in  churches 
and  convents  only  plays  of  a  purely  devotional  character 
be  allowed.  Further  conditions  were  that  the  men  should 
be  separated  from  the  women  and  should  enter  by  dif- 
ferent doors ;  that  no  plays  should  be  acted  in  the  univer- 
sities of  Alcala  or  Salamanca,  except  during  vacation; 
that  all  comedias  and  entremeses,  before  being  acted  in 
public,  shall  be  played  before  a  number  of  learned  per- 
sons, among  them  at  least  one  theologian;  that  a  judge  be 
appointed  to  enforce  the  penalties  against  those  who 
break  these  conditions ;  and,  finally,  that  a  license  to  per- 
form should  be  granted  for  one  year  only  "como  para 
prueba  y  experiencia  de  su  observancia."^ 

This  dictamen  of  Fray  Caspar  de  Cordoba  and  his  ten 
colleagues  was  referred  to  the  King's  Council,  who  issued 
it  in  the  same  year,  though  modified  in  several  particulars. 
After  reciting  in  substance  the  opinion  of  the  theologians 
that  there  should  be  nothing  improper  in  the  comedias  nor 
in  the  songs  and  dances,  concurring  in  the  seasons  and 
times  fixed  by  them,  and  adding  that  on  the  days  that 
comedias  are  given  the  doors  of  the  theater  shall  not  be 
opened  until  two  o'clock,  "so  that  the  people  may  not 
miss  the  Mass,  and  for  other  reasons,"  the  document  pro- 
ceeds as  follows :  "And  since  they  [the  theologians]  like- 
wise say  that  women  shall  not  act  because  their  freedom 
{desenvoltura)  in  such  public  acts  incites  to  evil,  and  that 
if,  in  the  place  of  womeh,  boys  appear  on  the  stage  in 
female  attire,  they  shall  not  appear  rouged  or  in  any  un- 
seemly make-up  {compos tura),  it  appears  to  this  Council 
that  it  is  much  less  improper  that  women  should  act  than 
that  boys  should  appear  in  female  attire,  even  though  they 
be  not  rouged  nor  made  up,  provided  that  the  said  women 
do  not  appear  in  the  habit  or  dress  of  men  and  be  accom- 
panied by  their  husbands  or  fathers,  and  not  otherwise. 

*PelHcer,  Histrionismo,  Vol.  I,  p.  151.    This  dictamen  is  now  reprinted 
in  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  p.  208. 


214  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

"As  regards  the  opinion  of  the  churchmen  that  there 
shall  be  only  four  companies  of  players  in  the  kingdoms 
and  that  none  of  them  may  remain  in  any  one  place 
longer  than  a  month,  and  that  they  may  not  perform  in 
any  one  place  more  than  four  months  in  any  whole  year, 
and  that  two  companies  may  not  play  at  the  same  time  in 
one  place  nor  act  more  than  three  days  in  any  week,  Sun- 
days and  feast-days  included,  it  appears  that  that  portion 
which  refers  to  the  number  of  companies  and  to  the  days 
on  which  they  may  represent  ought  to  be  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Council,  as  it  has  always  been,  so  that  the  Council 
may  decree  as  it  seems  proper,"  etc.^ 

That  the  recommendation  of  the  theologians  that  there 
/  should  be  but  four  companies  of  players  was  disregarded, 
is  further  shown  by  the  following  autores  de  comedias, 
whom  I  find  mentioned  between  February,  1600,  and 
April  26,  1603  ;  Melchor  de  Vlllalba,  Gabriel  de  la  Torre, 
Gaspar  de  Porres,  Juan  de  Vlllalba,  Baltasar  Pinedo, 
Diego  Lopez  de  Alcaraz,  Pedro  Jimenez  de  Valenzuela, 
Gabriel  Vaca,  Antonio  de  Villegas,  Miguel  Ramirez,  Juan 
de  Tapia,  Luis  de  Castro,  Alonso  de  Paniagua,  Jeronimo 
Lopez  de  Sustaya,  Alonso  Rlquelme,  Pedro  Rodriguez, 
Melchor  de  Leon,  Diego  de  Rojas,  Gaspar  de  los  Reyes, 

^  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias  sobre  la  Licitud  del  Teatro,  pp.  163^ 
164.  The  resolution  of  this  Council  as  given  by  Cabrera  de  Cordoba 
varies  only  slightly  from  the  above,  stating  that  permission  is  granted  to 
represent  comedias  de  historias,  but  that  they  must  not  contain  acts  of 
religion  or  of  the  saints.  The  passage  in  Cabrera,  Relaciones,  p.  59, 
under  date  of  February  4,  i6oo,  is:  "Solamente  se  ha  tornado  resolucion 
que  puedan  representarse  comedias  en  los  teatros  de  aqui  adelante,  lo  qua! 
estaba  prohibido  por  evitar  el  escandalo  y  mal  exemplo  que  en  ellas  habia; 
pero  porque  los  hospitales  no  pierdan  el  provecho  que  se  les  sigue,  sin  lo 
qual  se  padecia  mucha  en  la  cura  de  los  pobres,  y  estaban  para  cerrarse 
los  hospitales  porque  no  bastaban  las  limosnas,  se  da  licencia  para  sc 
representar  comedias  de  historias,  y  que  no  se  mezclen  actos  de  religion 
ni  de  santos;  y  que  las  mugeres  que  representaren  no  se  pongan  en  habito 
de  hombre,  sino  trayendo  vaqueros  largos,  y  que  sean  casadas  con  los 
mismos  que  representaren,  y  que  fuera  de  alli  los  unos  ni  los  otros  na 
puedan  andar  vestidos  de  seda  ni  con  guarnicion  de  ella  ni  de  oro,  sobre 
Id  qual  ha  habido  junta  de  teologos,  canonistas  y  juristas,  para  tomar  esta 
resolucion." 


THE  DECREE  OF  1603  215 

Juan  de  Morales  Medrano,  and  Gabriel  Nunez,  no  less 
than  twenty-one  heads  of  companies. 

By  a  royal  rescript  dated  April  26,  1603,  the  number 
of  theatrical  companies  was  limited  to  eight. ^  The  text 
of  this  decree  is  as  follows:  "For  very  good  and  sufficient 
considerations  his  Majesty  has  commanded  that  within 
these  kingdoms  there  may  be  only  eight  companies  of  play- 
ers and  the  same  number  of  autores  or  managers  of  them, 
as  follows :  Caspar  de  Porres,  Nicolas  de  los  Rios,  Balta- 
sar  de  Pinedo,  Melchor  de  Leon,  Antonio  Granados, 
Diego  Lopez  de  Alcaraz,  Antonio  de  Villegas,  and  Juan 
de  Morales,  and  that  no  other  company  may  represent 
within  these  kingdoms,  and  that  you  take  notice  of  this, 
so  that  you  may  fulfil  and  execute  it  inviolably  within  your 
district  and  jurisdiction;  and  if  any  other  company  should 
represent,  you  shall  proceed  against  the  manager  and  the 
actors  and  punish  them  with  due  rigor;  and  you  shall  not 
in  any  manner  permit  companies  to  represent  in  the  mon- 
asteries of  friars  or  in  the  convents  of  nuns,  nor  shall  there 
be  any  representations  during  Lent,  even  though  they  be 
in  the  sacred  manner;  all  of  which  you  will  guard  and 
fulfil,"  2  etc. 

^  It  appears  that  such  a  craze  for  theatrical  performances  had  seized  all 
classes  by  this  time,  especially  artisans,  that  an  attempt  was  made  by  the 
authorities  to  check  it  in  the  year  preceding  this  decree.  In  1602  the  Alcal- 
des de  Casa  y  Corte  caused  it  to  be  proclaimed  publicly  that  no  workman 
or  tradesman  of  any  occupation  whatever,  nor  their  masters,  visit  th* 
comedia  on  work-days,  under  a  penalty  of  two  years  of  banishment  and  a 
fine  of  2000  maravedis.  (Perez  Pastor,  Bulletin  Hispanique  (1907),  p. 
367.)     See  also  below,  p.  220,  note  2. 

*This  decree  of  April  26,  1603,  is  as  follows:  "For  muy  justas  causas  y 
consideraciones  a  mandado  su  Magestad  que  en  todos  estos  rejoios  no 
pueda  auer  sino  ocho  compaiiias  de  representantes  de  comedias  y  otros 
tantos  autores  de  ellos,  que  son  Caspar  de  Porres,  Nicolas  de  los  Rios,  Bal- 
tasar  de  Pinedo,  Melchor  de  Leon,  Antonio  Granados,  Diego  Lopez  de 
Alcaraz,  Antonio  de  Villegas  y  Juan  de  Morales,  y  que  ninguna  otra 
compania  represente  en  ellos;  de  lo  qual  se  adbierte  a  Vm.  para  que  ansi 
lo  haga  cumpHr  y  executar  ynviolablemente  en  todo  su  distrito  y  juris- 
diccion,  y  si  otra  qualquiera  compania  representase,  procederd  contra  el 
autor  della  y  representantes,  y  los  castigara  con  el  rigor  necessario  y  en 
ninguna  manera  permita  que  en  ningun  tiempo  del  ano  se  representen  co- 
medias en  monasterio  de  frayles  ni  monjas,  ni  que  en  el  de  la  quaresma 


21 6  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

The  article  of  this  decree  restricting  the  number  of 
autores  de  comedias  to  eight  seems  not  to  have  been  ob- 
served, for,  in  addition  to  the  eight  enumerated  above, 
I  find  the  following  directors  of  companies  between  1603 
and  1 61 5:  Alonso  de  Riquelme  (especially  designated  as 
"de  su  Magestad"),  Antonio  Ramos,  Domingo  Balbin, 
Alonso  de  Heredia,  HernanSanchezde  Vargas,  Alonso  de 
Villalba,  Tomas  Fernandez  de  Cabredo,  Cristobal  Rami- 
rez, Pedro  de  Valdes  (called  "de  su  Magestad,"  February 
2,  1 614),  Pedro  Llorente,  Andres  de  Claramonte  ("de 
los  nombrados  por  su  Magestad,"  March  28,  1614). 

In  1608  an  order  for  the  government  and  regulation  of 
the  theaters  of  Madrid  was  issued  by  the  licentiate  Juan 
de  Tejada,  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  to  whom  was  com- 
mitted the  protection  and  government  of  the  General  Hos- 
pital of  the  capital,  and  of  the  other  hospitals  which 
shared  in  the  profits  of  the  theaters.  This  order  is  so 
important  and  is  so  clearly  the  basis  of  the  subsequent 
decree  of  161 5  for  the  regulation  of  the  theaters,  that  I 
copy  it  here.  It  shows,  among  other  interesting  things, 
that  women  were  not  confined  to  seats  in  the  cazuela,  but 
that,  besides  the  aposentos,  they  also  occupied  the  gradas 
and  tarimas.  These  regulations  are  as  follows:  "(i) 
That  before  a  manager  may  enter  this  court  [Madrid] 
with  his  company,  he  must  first  obtain  a  license  from  that 
officer  of  the  Council  who  is  the  protector  of  the  said 
hospitals,  and  without  this  he  may  not  enter.  (2)  That 
before  Pascua  de  Resurreccion  of  each  year  the  managers 
of  companies  shall  give  to  the  Council  an  account  of  the 
company  they  have,  declaring  that  the  persons  whom 
they  bring  are  married  and  to  whom  they  are  married,  and 
the  same  before  representing  in  this  court,  under  penalty 
of  20,000  maravedis  for  the  hospitals  and  punishment 

aya  representaciones  deltas,  aunque  sea  a  lo  divino;  todo  lo  qual  hara 
guardar  y  cumplir.  Porque  de  lo  contra rio  se  tendra  su  Magestad  por 
deservido.  De  Valladolid  a  26  de  Abri!  de  1603  aiios."  (Schack,  Nach- 
trdge,  p.  30,  and  now  reprinted  in  Cotarelo,  Controversias,  p.  621.) 


THE  DECREE  OF  1608  217 

besides.  (3)  That  the  manager  who  shall  happen  to  be 
in  this  court  shall  select  his  theater  for  the  first  week, 
which  begins  on  Monday,  otherwise  he  is  estopped;  and 
if  three  autores  should  happen  to  be  here,  they  shall 
divide,  each  one  representing  two  days  successively  {de 
arreo)^  in  such  manner  that  in  twelve  days  each  one  is  to 
represent  eight  comedias,  four  in  each  of  the  theaters. 
(4)  That  two  days  before  the  representation  of  a  come- 
dia,  entremes,  or  song,  the  said  comedia,  etc.,  is  to  be 
taken  to  the  officer  of  the  Council  for  examination,  and 
until  the  necessary  license  be  procured,  the  comedia,  etc., 
is  not  to  be  assigned  to  the  players  for  study,  under 
penalty  of  twenty  ducats  and  other  punishment;  and  no 
woman  shall  appear  to  dance  or  act  in  male  attire,  under 
the  same  penalty.  (5)  Thatthedoorsof  the  theaters  shall 
not  be  opened  until  twelve  o'clock,  noon,  and  representa- 
tions shall  begin  during  the  six  months  from  October  i 
at  two  o'clock,  and  during  the  other  six  months  at  four 
in  the  afternoon,  so  that  the  performance  may  end  one 
hour  before  nightfall;  and  the  commissioners  and  algua- 
ciles  shall  take  particular  heed  that  this  be  complied  with. 

(6)  That  it  be  clearly  indicated  on  the  posters  what 
comedias  are  to  be  represented  each  day,  and  he  who  for 
good  cause  shall  fail  to  do  so  shall  give  an  account  of  it 
to  the  officer  of  the   Council,   under  the   said  penalty. 

(7)  That  the  brotherhood  of  the  Pasion  and  of  the 
Soledad  shall  each  year  name  two  Commissioners,  satis- 
factory persons,  rich  and  unoccupied,  who  shall  take  their 
turn  by  weeks  in  each  theater,  and  before  naming  the 
whole  number  they  shall  furnish  the  list  to  the  officer  of 
the  Council,  so  that  he  may  attend,  if  he  so  desire.  (8) 
That  the  said  Commissioners  appoint  responsible  and 
trustworthy  persons  to  receive  the  profits,  who  shall  allow 
nobody  to  enter  without  paying  the  required  sum,  and 
they  shall  not  leave  the  doors  until  at  least  the  first  act  is 
over,  and  having  done  so,  they  shall  hand  over  the  money 


2i8  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

to  the  proper  person  for  distribution.  (9)  That  only 
the  four  Commissioners,  the  person  with  the  book,  and 
the  money-takers  (cobradores)  shall  enter  without  paying 
either  for  entrance  or  for  a  seat,  and  no  other  person, 
either  because  he  is  an  alguacil,  scrivener,  brother  {co- 
frade),  or  deputy,  nor  for  any  other  cause,  and  of  this 
the  alguaciles  shall  take  particular  heed,  so  that  there  may 
be  no  disputes  on  this.account,  and  if  there  be,  they  shall 
arrest  the  person,  etc.  (10)  That  the  said  Commissioner 
shall,  during  his  week,  at  ten  o'clock  in  summer  and  at 
eleven  in  winter,  come  every  day  to  the  theater  to  which 
he  has  been  designated,  to  assign  (repartir)  the  benches 
and  aposentos,  preferring  titled  persons  and  the  nobility 
who  may  have  sent  to  request  them.  (11)  That  they 
allow  no  man  to  enter  or  remain  in  the  gradas  or  tarimas 
of  the  women,  nor  allow  any  woman  to  enter  at  the  men's 
entrance,  nor  permit  any  one  to  enter  the  dressing-room 
or  elsewhere  unless  he  be  a  player,  and  if  any  one  shall 
do  so,  the  alguaciles  shall  put  him  in  prison  and  shall  duly 
report  it,  so  that  the  person  may  be  punished;  and  no  friar 
shall  likewise  be  permitted  to  enter  the  corrales  to  see  the 
comedias,  as  hereinbefore  commanded.  (12)  That  no 
man  be  permitted  to  enter  the  aposentos  especially  desig- 
nated for  women,  unless  he  be  known  to  be  the  husband, 
father,  son,  or  brother,  etc.  (13)  That  no  banco  or 
aposento  be  given  without  payment  for  it,  but  the  Com- 
missioners may  give  two  bancos  only  every  day  in  each 
theater,  during  the  week  in  which  they  serve,  to  accommo- 
date the  money-takers  and  such  others  as  are  necessary, 
and  no  aposento  may  be  given  to  anybody,  although  it  be 
vacant.  ( 14)  That  none  of  the  said  Commissioners  may 
depute  another  in  his  place;  if  for  good  reasons  he  be 
unable  to  attend,  he  shall  notify  his  companion.  (15) 
That  four  Commissioners  shall  consult  concerning  any  re- 
pairs to  the  theater,  etc.     (16)   That  that  officer  of  the 


THE  DECREE  OF  1608  219 

Council  who  is  protector  of  the  hospitals  shall  name  each 
year  a  Commissioner  of  the  said  hospitals,  who  shall  keep 
the  books  of  the  profits  of  the  said  comedias  and  share 
the  same  among  the  said  hospitals  as  agreed  upon.  (17) 
That  the  said  Comissario  de  libro  shall,  on  each  day  that 
a  comedia  is  given,  go  to  the  treasury  of  the  theater  at 
three  o'clock,  and  count  what  has  been  received  from  the 
seats,  bancos,  and  aposentos,  as  well  as  the  quartos  taken 
at  the  doors,  and  shall  divide  it  in  the  manner  required, 
etc.  (18)  That  of  the  five  quartos  [^20  maravedis] 
which  are  received  at  the  entrance  from  each  man  and 
woman,  the  manager  shall  take  three,  and  the  General 
Hospital  one,  and  the  other  hospital  of  the  capital  and  that 
of  Anton  Martin  each  one  half  a  quarto;  and  of  the 
money  which  results  from  the  asientos,  bancos,  aposentos, 
ventanas,  and  celostas,  the  General  Hospital  shall  receive 
the  one  fourth  part,  that  of  the  Ninos  expositos  another 
fourth  part  and  one  eighth  of  it,  and  the  rest  to  go  to  the 
Hospital  de  la  Pasion,  as  heretofore  determined,  etc. 
(19)  That  of  the  money  which  proceeds  from  the  venta- 
nas, celosias,  and  other  things  of  which  the  General  Hos- 
pital does  not  receive  the  quarto  entrance  money,  one  fifth 
be  given  to  the  said  hospital,  and  the  remainder  be  divided 
as  profits  from  the  asientos  and  aposentos.  (20)  That 
a  separate  account  be  kept  of  the  moneys  resulting  from 
the  renting  of  the  corrales,  the  coach-house,  and  the  six 
reals  which  each  autor  gives  for  each  representation  for 
repairs,  and  of  the  other  things  that  cannot  be  divided 
each  day,  and  that  care  be  taken  that  these  sums  be 
collected,  etc.  .  .  .  (26)  That  eight  days  before  the 
close  of  the  year  the  Commissioners  shall  announce  the 
leasing  of  the  corrales  for  the  following  year,  etc.  .  .  . 
(29)  That  the  lessee  shall  not  receive  for  each  aposento 
more  than  twelve  reals,  nor  for  each  banco  more  than  one 
real,  under  penalty,  etc,  .  .  .    (31)   That  no  curtains  or 


220  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

hangings  may  be  put  in  the  aposentos,  nor  benches  in  the 
patio,  unless  they  be  fastened  to  the  walls."* 

On  October  3,  161 1,  Dona  Margarita  of  Austria, 
wife  of  Philip  the  Third,  died,  after  having  given  birth  to  a 
son  on  September  22,  and  the  theaters  were  closed  in  con- 
sequence. This  was  a  blow  not  only  to  the  players,  but 
also  to  the  playwrights.  Thus  deprived  of  his  immediate 
source  of  income,  we  find  Lope  de  Vega  complaining  of 
his  ill  luck  in  a  letter  of  October  6-8,  to  his  patron,  the 
Duke  of  Sessa :  "I  have  bidden  good-by  to  the  Muses  on 
account  of  the  absence  of  comedias;  I  shall  feel  their  loss, 
for,  after  all,  they  were  a  help  in  the  frequent  illness  that 
my  little  family  suffers,"  Again,  speaking  of  the  same 
subject,  he  says:  "Only  the  comedia  has  felt  the  misfor- 
tune," and  adds:  "with  due  discretion  they  are  already 
trying  to  resuscitate  the  play  for  the  good  of  the  hospi- 
tals." 2 

What  the  result  of  the  recommendation  of  D.  Juan  de 
Tejada  was  we  do  not  know,  but  on  April  8,  161 5,  the 
Council  issued  another  decree  for  the  "Reformation  of 
Comedias,"  which  does  not  differ  materially  from  the 
decree  of  1603,  except  that  it  declares  that  there  shall  be 
twelve  autores  de  comedias,  instead  of  eight,  and  names 
them,  and  reenacts  the  recommendation  of  D.  Juan  de 
Tejada  (of  1608)  in  many  of  its  provisions.  It  declares 
that  there  shall  be  no  more  than  twelve  companies  of  play- 
ers, to  be  named  by  the  Council,  who  shall  have  a  certifi- 
cate of  their  appointment  signed  by  Juan  Gallo  de  An- 
drade,  secretary  of  the  Camara  del  Consejo.  That  the 
Council  appoints  the  following  twelve  autores:  Alonso 

^  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  pp.  622-625.  In  this  year  (1608)  we 
find  an  "Auto  de  los  Alcaldes  de  Casa  y  Corte"  forbidding  all  men  from 
stopping  at  the  door  of  the  theater  where  women  enter  or  leave  the  house, 
under  a  penalty  of  200  ducats  and  banishment  for  four  years  from  the 
court  and  five  leagues  therefrom.  Madrid,  May  6,  i6o8.  {Bull.  Hispa- 
nique  (1907),  p.  374.) 

'  Rennert,  Life  of  Lope  de  Fega,  p.  198.  Two  years  after  this,  on  October 
19,  1613,  writing  from  Lerma  to  his  patron,  the  Duke  of  Sessa,  Lope  de 


THE  DECREE  OF  1615  221 

Riquelme,  Fernan  Sanchez,  Tomas  Fernandez,  Pedro  de 
Valdes,  Diego  Lopez  de  Alcaraz,  Pedro  Cebrlano,  Pedro 
Llorente,  Juan  de  Morales,  Juan  Acacio,  Antonio  Grana- 
dos,  Alonso  de  Heredia,  and  Andres  de  Claramonte,  who, 
and  no  others,  may  conduct  companies  for  the  space  of 
two  years  next  following  the  eighth  day  of  April,  and  they 
shall  have  in  their  companies  persons  of  good  lives  and 
habits,  and  shall  each  year  furnish  an  account  of  them  to 
the  person  whom  the  Council  may  designate,  and  the 
same  shall  be  done  by  those  who  may  be  named  autores 
hereafter,  every  two  years. 

That  the  directors  and  married  actors  be  accompanied 
by  their  wives. 

That  they  shall  not  wear  costumes  against  the  pragmat- 
ics of  the  realm,  except  upon  the  stage  or  wherever  they 
may  represent. 

That  the  actresses  shall  appear  only  in  decent  women's 
attire  and  shall  not  represent  in  underskirt  (faldellin) 
only,  but  shall  at  least  wear  over  it  a  gown  or  loose  over- 
skirt  {baquero  6  hasquiha  suelta  enfaldada),  and  they  shall 
not  act  in  male  attire  nor  assume  the  roles  of  men, 
nor  shall  men  or  youths  represent  women  on  the  stage. 
It  prohibits  all  lascivious  or  immodest  songs,  dances,  or 
gestures,  and  permits  only  such  as  may  be  in  conformity 
with  the  old  dances  and  bailes,  and  especially  forbids  all 
the  bailes  de  escarramanes,  chaconas,  zarabandas,  carre- 
terias,  and  all  similar  dances,  concerning  which  it  com- 
mands that  the  autores  may  not  make  use  of  them  in  any 
manner  whatsoever,  under  the  penalties  declared,  nor 
may  they  invent  other  new  and  similar  ones  bearing  dif- 
ferent names.  And  all  songs  and  dances  must  be  ap- 
proved by  the  Council,  even  those  which  are  permissible. 

Vega  says  that  he  had  received  word  from  Madrid  that  women  had  been 
forbidden  to  visit  the  comedia.  His  words  are:  "De  Madrid  me  han  escrito 
que  por  pregon  publico  se  ha  prohibido  que  las  mugeres  no  vayan  a  la 
comedia,  no  se  que  se  murraura  aqui  acerca  de  la  causa."  (Schack,  Nach- 
tr'dge,  p.  34.)     I  find  no  mention  elsewhere  of  such  a  prohibition. 


222  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

It  provides  further  that  in  each  theater  of  Madrid  an 
especially  appointed  alguacil  shall  be  present  (besides 
Juan  Alicante,  alguacil  de  la  casa  y  corte  de  S.  M.),  and 
the  other  two  alguaciles  during  the  time  for  which  they 
may  be  appointed,  each  to  remain  in  the  theater  to  which 
he  may  be  designated,  and  all  are  to  take  precautions  that 
there  be  no  noise,  uproar,  or  scandal;  that  the  men  be 
kept  separated  from  the  women,  both  in  the  seats  and  in 
the  entrances  and  exits,  to  avoid  all  unseemly  acts;  and 
they  shall  permit  nobody  except  the  players  to  enter  the 
dressing-rooms.  They  are  further  to  see  to  it  that  the 
auditors  leave  the  theater  before  dark  and  that  the  thea- 
ters be  not  opened  until  noon. 

That  the  autores  and  their  companies  shall  not  repre- 
sent in  private  houses  in  Madrid  without  the  license  of  the 
Council,  nor  shall  they  admit  anybody  to  their  rehearsals. 

That  no  comedias  whatever  be  represented  from  Ash 
Wednesday  until  the  first  Sunday  after  Easter,  nor  on  the 
Sundays  in  Advent,  nor  on  the  first  days  of  the  Pascuas. 
That  all  comedias,  entremeses,  bailes,  dances,  and  songs, 
before  they  are  handed  over  to  the  actors  to  be  studied, 
shall  be  taken  to  the  censor  appointed  by  the  Council,  who 
shall  pass  upon  them  and  shall  give  a  license,  signed  by 
him,  permitting  their  representation,  and  without  this 
license  they  may  not  be  performed. 

That  no  two  companies  may  be  in  one  place  at  the  same 
time  except  in  the  court  [Madrid]  and  in  Seville,  nor 
may  they  be  more  than  two  months  in  one  place  in  any 
year. 

That  no  performance  be  given  in  any  church  or  monas- 
tery unless  the  comedia  be  purely  one  of  devotion. 

That  the  autores  or  players  who  fail  to  observe  the 
above-mentioned  declarations  be  punished  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:  For  the  first  offense  a  fine  of  200  ducats,  to 
be  devoted  to  charitable  works;  for  the  second  the  double 
of  this  fine  and  banishment  from  the  kingdom  for  two 


AUTORES  IN  1615-1640  223 

years,  and  for  the  third  infraction  two  years  in  the  gal- 
leys.   The  decree  is  signed  by  Juan  Gallo  de  Andrade.^ 

We  have  seen  that  by  the  above  decree  of  161 5  only 
twelve  autores  de  comedias,  or  directors  of  companies, 
were  permitted  to  give  theatrical  performances,  and  that 
these  autores  were  to  exercise  this  privilege  for  two  years 
only,  except  by  special  reappointment.  Among  the  autores 
de  comedias  between  161 5  and  1640  who  were  especially 
designated  as  "appointed  by  his  Majesty,"  I  have  found 
the  following,  though  there  were  doubtless  others: 
Cristobal  Ortiz  de  Villazan  (1619);  Manuel  Vallejo 
(1623);  Juan  Bautista  Valenciano  (1623);  Juan  Mar- 
tinez (1624)  ;  Bartolome  Romero  (1637)  ;  Pedro  de  la 
Rosa  (1637)  ;  Luis  Bernardo  de  Bovadilla  (1637)  ;  An- 
dres de  la  Vega  (1638) ;  Juan  Roman  (1638)  ;  Francisco 
Velez  de  Guevara  (1639)  ;  Francisco  Alvarez  de  Vitoria 
( 1 639 )  ;  Pedro  de  Cobaleda  ( 1 639 ) . 

Of  autores  de  comedias  not  designated  as  appointed  by 
the  King,  the  following  names  occur  between  161 5  and 
1640:  Cristobal  de  Leon,  Pedro  Cerezo  de  Guevara, 
Francisco  Mudarra,  Francisco  Ortiz,  Juan  Catalan, 
Alonso  de  Olmedo  y  Tofifio,  Cristobal  de  Avendaiio, 
Jeronimo  Sanchez,  Antonio  de  Prado,  Juan  Jeronimo 
Almella,  Roque  de  Figueroa,  Juan  Vazquez  {El  Polio) ^ 
Lorenzo  Hurtado  de  la  Camara,  Francisco  Lopez,  Juan 
Bautista  Espinola  or  Espinosa,  Sebastiano  Gonzalez, 
Juan  de  Malaguilla,  Juan  Pefialosa,  Francisco  Solano, 
Segundo  de  Morales,  Juan  Rodriguez  de  Antriago, 
Damian  Arias  de  Penafiel,  Pedro  de  Linares,  Pedro  de 
Ascanio,  Antonio  de  Rueda,  Gabriel  de  Espinosa,  Damian 
de  Espinosa,  Luis  Lopez  de  Sustaete,  Francisco  Garcia, 
and  Pedro  Manuel  de  Castilla  {Mudarra). 

For  some  time  prior  to  1615,  however,  the  question  of 

*  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  etc.,  pp.  626,  627.  This  decree  had 
previously  been  published  in  part  by  Sepulveda,  El  Corral  de  la  Pacheca, 
p.  41. 


224  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

completely  suppressing  the  comedias  must  have  been  again 
discussed,  for  on  February  25,  161 5,  a  resolution  was 
adopted  by  the  town  council  or  ayuntamiento  of  Madrid, 
which  reads:  "Having  heard  that  there  is  a  question  of 
prohibiting  comedias,  and  that  in  lieu  of  the  profits  which 
the  hospitals  derive  from  the  comedias  certain  excises 
and  imposts  are  to  be  levied,  ...  it  has  been  shown  by 
experience  that  it  is  less  dangerous  to  have  comedias  than 
to  suppress  them,  for  those  who  go  to  see  them  are  thus 
prevented  from  having  recourse  to  other  things  of  greater 
danger  and  prejudice  to  them;  ...  it  is  therefore  re- 
solved that  the  council  entreat  his  Majesty  that  comedias 
may  be  permitted  as  heretofore,  and  that  the  proceeds 
resulting  therefrom  be  devoted  to  the  hospitals,"  etc.* 

The  comedia,  it  seems,  had  not  been  flourishing  as  here- 
tofore, and  in  the  previous  year  ( 1614)  there  had  been  a 
general  complaint  on  the  part  of  the  overseers  of  the 
charities  dependent  upon  the  theaters,  in  which  they  were 
supported  by  the  autores,  that  the  income  from  the  come- 
dia had  been  greatly  diminished  on  account  of  the  de- 
creased attendance  at  the  theaters.  The  reasons  assigned 
were  various:  "because  the  price  of  admission  had  been 
raised;  because  the  buncos  and  aposentos  had  been 
farmed  out,  and  further  restrictions  had  been  made  as  to 
the  entrance  of  women  into  the  theaters,  and,  finally, 
because  there  are  no  good  autores  nor  any  dances  by 
women."* 

The  representation  of  comedias  was  continued  under 
the  restrictions  prescribed  by  the  decree  of  161 5,  but 
Pellicer  says  that  they  were  not  so  popular,  "having  lost 
the  salt  and  attraction  of  the  picaresque  dances,  of  which 
the  youth  of  both  sexes  are  so  fond." 

This  condition  of  things  was  not  destined  to  continue 
long.     As  one  may  readily  imagine,  the  managers  of  the 

*P6rez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  359. 

*  Pellicer,  Histrionismo,  Vol.  II,  pp.  159,  160. 


NUMBER  OF  COMPANIES  225 

theaters  were  not  slow  to  give  the  public  what  it  asked, 
and  gradually,  one  after  another,  every  restriction  that 
had  been  placed  upon  the  theaters  was  disregarded.^  Be- 
sides the  twelve  privileged  companies  of  players  {com- 
pahias  reales  or  de  titulo)  numerous  other  companies 
soon  sprang  up  {compahias  de  la  legua,  as  they  were 
called),  which  overran  the  peninsula  and  apparently  took 
no  pains  to  avoid  the  capital.  According  to  Pellicer, 
there  were  no  less  than  forty,  their  total  membership 
amounting  to  over  one  thousand  persons.^ 

Indeed,  a  writer  quoted  by  Ticknor  declares  that  in 
1636  there  were  as  many  as  three  hundred  companies  of 

*  Other  measures  respecting  the  theaters  were  enacted  in  succeeding 
years.  In  1624  churchmen  were  prohibited  from  visiting  the  theaters  or 
bull-fights:  Acuerdo  de  la  Junta  de  Reformacion.  "En  24  de  Marzo  1624 
acordo  la  Junta  que  los  religiosos  no  fueran  a  las  comedias  ni  a  los  toros." 
(Perez  Pastor,  Bull.  Hisp.  (1908),  p.  250.)  In  the  following  year  an  at- 
tempt was  even  made  to  prevent  the  printing  of  comedias:  Acuerdo  de  la 
Junta  de  Reformacion.  "Y  porque  se  ha  reconocido  el  dano  de  imprimir 
libros  de  comedias,  novelas  ni  otros  deste  genero  por  el  que  blandamente 
hacen  a  las  costumbres  de  la  juventud,  se  consulte  a  su  M*'  ordene  al  Con- 
sejo  que  en  ningun  manera  se  de  licencia  para  imprimirlos."  In  the  mar- 
gin is  the  following  note:  "Hablose  sobre  deste  punto  a  7  de  Marzo  [1625] 
con  el  s""  Conde  Duque,  y  parecio  a  S.  Ex»  que  el  Presidente  mi  sefior  de  su 
oficio  lo  hiciesen,  y  que  su  S»  podria  mandar  asi."  {Ibid.,  p.  251.)  In  the 
same  year  it  was  again  declared  that  the  men  should  be  separated  from  the 
women  in  the  theaters  and  that  the  companies  of  players  be  reduced  from 
forty  to  twelve :  Acuerdo  de  la  Junta  de  Reformacion :  "En  la  Junta  de  29  de 
Junio  1625  se  acordo  que  hubiese  separacion  de  hombres  y  mugeres  en  los 
corrales  de  comedias,  que  las  companias  de  40  se  reduzcan  a  12."  [Ibid.) 
And  in  December,  1625,  it  was  recommended  that  representations  in  Madrid 
be  given  in  only  one  theater :  Acuerdo  de  la  Junta  de  Reformacion.  "En  1 1  de 
Diciembre  de  1625  acordo  la  Junta  que  en  la  corte  se  representase  en  un  solo 
corral  cada  dia."  {Ibid.,  p.  252.)  While  on  January  11,  1626,  it  was 
declared  that  but  one  comedia  should  be  represented  each  day  in  Madrid. 
{Ibid.,  p.  252.)     The  two  latter  decrees  were  certainly  never  observed. 

*  Cervantes,  Don  Quixote,  Madrid,  1797-98,  Vol.  IV,  p.  no,  note.  Pelli- 
cer's  information  is  probably  derived  from  a  memorial  presented  to 
Philip  IV.  by  one  Santiago  Ortiz.  The  date  of  this  instrument  has  been 
fixed  in  1639,  though  this  is  uncertain.  Ortiz  says  that,  in  spite  of  the 
decree  of  the  Council  that  there  should  be  no  more  than  eight  {sic)  com- 
panies, there  were  now  more  than  forty.  "Vieronse  en  poco  tiempo  dis- 
currir  con  desvergiienza  grande  por  el  reino  40  companias,  en  que  se 
ocupaban  mil  6  pocas  menos  personas  de  ambos  sexos,  gente  bagabunda, 
de  vida  licenciosa  y  casi  toda  de  costumbres  estragadas,  etc.  A  este  gente 
perdida  suelen  agregarse  hombres  facinerosos,  clerigos  y  frailes  apostatas 


226  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

players  in  Spain.^  That  this  number  is  greatly  exag- 
gerated does  not  admit  of  a  doubt.  It  is  probable  that 
there  were  not  more  than  twenty  companies  of  standing  in 
Spain  in  1636.  Of  smaller  strolling  bands  we  have  no 
information,  but  there  were  doubtless  many,  as  there  had 
been  for  years.  Still,  the  theater  was  undoubtedly  on  the 
wane. 

In  some  parts  of  Spain,  indeed,  theatrical  representa- 
tions were  not  tolerated  at  all,  as  in  Navarre,  and  "come- 

y  fugitives,  que  se  acogen  como  asilo  de  estas  companias  para  poder  andar 
libres  y  desconocidos  a  la  sombra  de  ellas.  Maridos  que  solo  sirven  de 
excusa  a  sus  mugeres,  y  mugeres  que  solo  sirven  de  excusa  &  sus  maridos, 
falsos  6  verdaderos,  y  que  con  sus  desenvolturas  y  bufonerias  encantan  i 
los  viejos  y  a  los  mozos  .  .  .  hallan  valedores  para  todo,  y  nunca  sus 
delitos  pueden  refrenarse  con  algunas  penas."  (Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales 
del  Teatro  en  Sevilla,  p.  282.)  Pellicer  states  that  Santiago  Ortiz,  the 
author  of  this  memorial,  was  an  actor,  but  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversial, 
p.  541,  shows  quite  conclusively  that  this  is  an  error  and  that  he  was  prob- 
ably "algun  religioso  austero,"  and  fixes  the  date  of  the  memorial  in  1649. 

^History  of  Spanish  Literature,  Boston,  1888,  Vol.  II,  p.  518,  note  9.  The 
writer  alluded  to  by  Ticknor  under  the  title  "Pantoja,  Sobre  Comedias," 
is  really  Simon  Lopez,  to  whom  reference  has  already  been  made.  "Pan- 
toja" was  the  name  of  a  lady  who  had  expressed  scruples  concerning  the 
legality  of  comedias,  to  which  the  work  of  Simon  Lopez  was  a  reply. 
(Cotarelo,  Controversias,  p.  399,  note.) 

The  following  statement  from  Leon  Pinelo's  Anales  is  not  without  inter- 
est, and  is,  besides,  a  flat  contradiction  of  the  assertion  of  "Pantoja."  After 
describing  the  funeral  of  Lope  de  Vega  in  1635,  Pinelo  says,  under  the 
year  1636:  "En  este  insigne  Ingenio  [Lope]  tuvieron  principio  las  come- 
dias en  la  forma  que  hasta  oy  perraanezen,  y  con  su  muerte  han  ydo 
descaeziendo,  de  modo  que  el  Doctor  Montalvan  en  el  ano  de  1632  pone 
setenta  y  siete  Poetas  de  que  refiere  los  nombres,  y  los  mas  escrivian 
comedias:  oy  no  podremos  senaiar  quatro  que  se  apliquen  a  esta  ocupa- 
zion,  y  asi  se  van  despoblando  los  Teatros  y  desaciendo  las  Companias 
de  la  farsa."  (Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  36.)  Still,  one  is  curious  to  know 
whom  Pinelo  had  in  mind  when  he  says  that  "not  four  poets  can  be 
named  nowadays  who  devote  themselves  to  writing  plays."  In  1636 
Guillen  de  Castro  was  dead,  but  Calderon  was  then  at  the  height  of  his 
fame,  and  Mira  de  Mescua,  Alarcon,  Rojas,  Velez  de  Guevara,  Montal- 
ban,  Moreto,  and  Tirso  de  Molina  were  still  among  the  living,  though 
perhaps  the  latter  had  then  practically  ceased  writing  for  the  stage.  That 
the  companies  of  players  were  not  all  disbanded  in  1636  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  among  the  principal  autores  who  had  companies  in  that  year 
or  shortly  thereafter  are  the  following:  Pedro  de  la  Rosa,  Manuel 
Vallejo,  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas,  Tomas  Fernandez  de  Cabredo,  Bar- 
tolome  Romero,  Luis  Bernardo  de  Bovadilla,  Alonso  de  Olmedo,  Antonio 


DECLINE  OF  THE  THEATER  227 

dians  who  entered  that  kingdom  were  severely  punished," 
as  Crespi  de  Borja  writes  in  1649.^  The  same  writer  also 
says  that  comedias  were  at  this  time  not  often  acted  in 
Valencia,  Segorve,  Jativa,  and  other  places.  And  as  early 
as  1620  an  anonymous  writer  says:  "In  other  cities  like 
Plasencia,  Burgos,  Leon,  Toro,  Zamora,  Cuenca,  Ocana, 

Uand  others,  actors  are  rarely  seen,  unless  it  be  to  represent 
Some  festival." 2  Two  years  later,  in  1622,  the  mayor- 
domo  of  the  hospitals  of  the  city  of  Vitoria  proposed  that 
a  theater  be  erected  in  the  city  to  provide  a  revenue  for  the 
hospitals,  and  to  this  the  town  council  assented.  But  the 
hijosdalgo  of  the  city  and  the  natives  of  the  surrounding 
country  objected  to  a  theater,  declaring  that  the  inhabi- 
tants were  very  industrious  and  that  they  would  become 
worthless  and  their  business  and  employments  would  suf- 
fer; moreover,  a  portion  of  the  site  that  had  been  chosen 
would,  from  its  darkness,  afford  lurking-places  for  thieves 
and  vagabonds.  The  structure  was  begun,  though  it 
remained  unfinished  and  was  never  used  as  a  theater.* 
That  for  some  time  prior  to  1634  there  had  been  no  co- 
medias represented  in  Murcia,  we  learn  from  a  letter  of 
Francisco  de  Cascales  to  Lope  de  Vega.^     And  in  1694 

de  Prado,  Roque  de  Figueroa,  Andres  de  la  Vega,  Luis  Lopez  de  Sustaete, 
Antonio  de  Rueda,  and  others. 

Since  writing  the  above  I  have  found  that  the  statement  of  Pinelo, 
though  under  the  year  1636,  was  not  actually  written  until  1658.  It  noay 
have  been  correct  at  the  latter  date.  See  Comedias  de  Moreto,  edited  by 
D.  Luis  Fernandez  Guerra,  p.  xii  {Bibl.  de  Autores  Espanoles). 

*  "En  Navarra  no  solo  no  las  [i.e.,  comedias]  hay,  pero  son  castigados 
gravemente  los  comediantes  si  entran  en  el  la."  He  further  says,  speaking 
of  comedias:  "en  las  ciudades  donde  no  las  hay  continuas,  conio  en  Va- 
lencia, Jativa,  Segorve  y  otros  lugares  del  reino,  donde  nunca  6  raras 
veces  las  hay,  no  se  ven  ni  se  hacen  mayores  delitos  cuando  faltan  estas 
comedias."  (Quoted  by  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  p.  194.)  This 
is  a  rather  startling  statement,  if  true,  for  it  shows  the  early  decline  of 
the  comedia  in  a  city — Valencia — which  was  one  of  the  great  theatrical 
centers  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

'  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  p.  229. 
'  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  190. 

*  Cartas  filologicas,  Murcia,  1634:  "Muchos  dias  ha,  Senor,  que  no  tene- 


228  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

comedias  were  banished  from  the  city  of  Cordoba  and  Its 
theater  was  ordered  to  be  torn  down  by  the  city  council.^ 

mos  en  Murcia  comedias;  ello-deve  ser  porque  aqui  han  dado  en  perseguir 
la  representacion,  predicando  contra  ella,  como  si  fuera  alguna  secta  6 
gravisirao  crimen."  (Edition  of  1779,  p.  127.)  I  do  not  know  the  date  of 
this  letter,  but  it  was  written  after  1621.  See  also  Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  6x. 
*  Controversias,  p.  209. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Private  representations  before  the  King.  Philip  the  Third.  Phih'p 
the  Fourth.  The  latter's  fondness  for  the  theater.  Representa- 
tions in  1622.  Festivals  at  Aranjuez.  The  "Buen  Retiro." 
Lope's  Selva  sin  Amor.  Dramatic  spectacles  by  Calderon.  De- 
cree of  1 641  regulating  plays.  The  theaters  closed  in  1646  and 
again  in  1682. 

On  March  31,  1621,  the  theaters  of  Madrid  were  closed- 
on  account  of  the  death  of  Philip  the  Third,  and  all  come- 
dias  were  suspended  until  July  28  of  that  year.^  The  autos 
were  represented  on  Corpus  Christi  as  usual,  and  in  Ma- 
drid they  were  performed  by  the  companies  of  Pedro  de 
Valdes  and  Cristobal  de  Avendaiio,  who  were  the  only 
autores  permitted  to  act  in  Madrid  "from  the  day  the 
license  should  be  given  until  Corpus."  ^  During  the  aiitos 
of  this  year  we  are  told  that  not  a  castanet  was  heard,  out 
of  respect  for  the  late  King.  At  Seville  they  were  pre- 
sented by  the  companies  of  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas 
and  Juan  Bautista  Valenciano.' 

Upon  the  opening  of  the  corrales  of  Madrid,  on  July 
28,  1 62 1,  the  first  comedia  to  be  performed  was  Lope  de 
Vega's  Dios  haze  Reyes,  which  was  represented  by  the" 
company  of  Diego  Lopez  de  Alcaraz.* 

*Pellicer,  Vol.  I,  p.  161.  It  is  probable  that  this  prohibition  also  extended 
to  Seville.  Fernandez-Guerra  {Alarcon,  p.  351)  states  that  the  theaters 
^ere  closed  only  till  May  9,  1621. 

'  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  188. 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  217. 

*Pellicer,  Histrionismo,  Vol.  I,  p.  i6i,  says:  "Comenzo  Alcazar  por  una 
comedia  de  Lope  de  Vega,"  etc.  This  is  evidently  a  mistake  for  Alcaraz, 
since  we  know  that  the  latter,  who  had  been  an  autor  de  comedies  since 
the  last  decade  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  in  Madrid  in  1621  and  the 

229 


230  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Of  the  kings  of  Spain  during  the  period  with  which  we  are 
concerned,  Philip  the  Second  seems  to  have  lent  no  support 
to  the  theater  nor  to  have  favored  it  in  any  material  way. 
Indeed,  nothing  could  have  been  more  opposed  to  his 
gloomy  religious  character,  and  while  Philip  the  Third  in- 
herited much  of  the  somberness  of  his  father's  nature, 
which  toward  the  close  of  his  life  developed  into  a  like  re- 
ligious fanaticism,  he  seems  not  to  have  been  averse  to  the 
stage  and  even  had  a  theater  built  in  the  palace  for  private 
representations,  though  this  was  probably  due  more  to  the 
interest  and  delight  which  the  Queen  took  in  such  per- 
formances. As  Schack  has  observed,  it  results  from  the 
Relaciones  of  Cabrera  that  as  early  as  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century  comedias  were  represented  in  the  . 
royal  palace  or  Alcazar,  which  stood  upon  the  spot  where 
the  royal  palace  stands  to-day,  i.e.,  in  the  west  end  of 
Madrid,  while  the  Buen  Retiro  is  situated  in  the  east  end 
of  the  city,  and  that  Philip  the_Third,  besides  the  stage 
which  appears  to  have  been  in  one  of  the  royal  saloons^ 
also  caused  a  theater  to  be  built  in  the  Casus  del  Tesoro, 
near  the  palace.^ 

Many  private  representations  of  comedias  before  the 
court  doubtless  took  place  in  the  years  preceding  the 
building  of  this  theater,  of  which  a  few  are  recorded. 
These  were  all  given  at  the  instance  of  the  Queen.  On 
January  30,  1603,  the  Queen  commanded  that  1500  reals 
be  paid  to  Nicolas  de  los  Rios  for  five  comedias  acted  in 
her  presence  at  Valladolid  during  that  month,   and  on 

beginning  of  1622.  (Nuevos  Datos,  p.  189.)  The  name  "Alcazar"  had 
misled  Chorley  into  supposing  that  the  Alcazar  theater  (i.e.,  in  the  Royal 
Palace)  was  meant.  See  my  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  p.  489.  Lope's  play 
contains  no  gracioso,  and  Chorley  says  that  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  Lope 
purposely  refrained  from  introducing  a  comic  character,  as  the  period  of 
mourning  for  the  King's  death  was  not  yet  over. 

^  Nachtrdge,  p.  26.  The  passage  in  Cabrera  is  as  follows,  under  the 
date,  Madrid  a  20  de  Enero  1607:  "Hase  hecho  en  el  segundo  patio  de  las 
casas  del  Tesoro  un  teatro  donde  vean  sus  Magestades  las  comedias, 
como  se  representan  al  pueblo  en  los  corrales  que  estan  deputados  para 
ello,  porque  puedan  gozar  mejor  de  ellas  que  quando  se  les  representa  ea 


REPRESENTATIONS  BEFORE  QUEEN    231 

July  14,  1603,  he  received  600  reals  for  two  comedias, 
one  of  which  he  represented  at  Burgos  in  June,  and  one 
at  Valladolid,  where  the  court  then  was,  on  July  13,  1603. 
Again,  on  August  25  of  the  same  year  Juan  de  Morales 
Medrano  received  600  reals  for  two  comedias  played 
before  the  Queen  in  August,  while  Antonio  de  Villegas 
was  paid  1200  reals  for  four  comedias  acted  in  the 
Queen's  presence  in  Valladolid  in  September,  1603.^  On 
October  20,  1604,  the  Queen  commanded  that  2000  reals 
be  paid  to  Caspar  de  Porres  on  account  of  the  comedias 
represented  before  her  during  this  year  in  Valladolid,  and 
1600  reals,  the  balance  due  him,  on  November  23,  for 
twelve  comedias  acted  between  August  and  the  end  of 
November,  i.e.,  3600  reals  for  the  twelve  comedias.^ 

The  autos  sacramentales  made  a  stronger  appeal  to 
Philip  the  Third  than  comedias,  and  were  often  repre- 
sented in  private  before  the  royal  family.  In  1609  Balbin 
and  Heredia  represented  autos  before  the  King  in  the 
Escorial,^  and  in  June,  16 13,  Alonso  de  Riquelme  and  his 
players  proceeded  to  San  Lorenzo  el  Real  to  repeat  be- 
fore the  King  the  autos  sacramentales  which  he  had  rep- 
resented at  Corpus  of  that  year  in  Madrid.  For  this 
private  representation  Riquelme  was  to  have  received 
3100  reals,  "but  200  reals  were  deducted  as  a  fine,  because 
he  did  not  furnish  new  costumes,  in  accordance  with  the 
agreement  which  he  had  made."^ 

With  the  accession  to  the  throne  of  Philip  the  Fourth, 
in  1 62 1 ,  at  the  age  of  sixteen^  ( he  was  born  April  8,  1 605  ) , 

su  sala,  y  asi  han  hecho  alrededor  galerias  y  ventanas  donde  este  la  gente 
de  Palacio,  y  sus  Magestades  iran  alii  de  su  Camara  por  el  pasadizo  que 
esta  hecho,  y  las  veran  por  unas  celosias."  {Relaciones  de  las  Cosas 
sucedidas  en  la  Corte  de  Espana  desde  el  ano  isqq  hasta  1614,  por  Luia 
Cabrera  de  Cordoba.  Edited  by  D.  Pascual  de  Gayangos.  Madrid,  1857, 
p.  298.) 

*  Perez  Pastor,  in  Bull.  Hispanique  (1907),  p.  368. 
*/*i</.,  p.  369.  ^  Ibid.,  p. 'ijs. 

*  Nue-vos  Datos,  p.  135. 

*  Philip  III.  died  March  30,  1621,  so  that,  in  fact,  the  new  King  was  not 
quite  sixteen. 


232  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

a  more  favorable  period  for  the  drama  was  inaugurated. 
He  was  a  generous  patron  of  art  and  literature  and  was 
especially  an  ardent  admirer  of  the  theater.  As  Schack 
has  said:  "His  name  is  Indissolubly  linked  with  the  great 
artists  and  poets  who  glorified  his  reign.  Under  his  pro- 
tection the  greatest  Spanish  painters,  led  by  Velazquez, 
were  united  at  Madrid  to  a  school  which  will  compare 
favorably  with  that  of  any  other  country." 

With  Philip  the  Fourth  the  theater  was  a  ruling  pas- 
sion, in  which  perhaps  his  inordinate  weakness  for  the 
comediantas  played  no  less  a  part  than  his  admiration  for 
the  comedia.  He  not  only  greatly  encouraged  dramatists,^ 
but  is  said  to  have  himself  written  a  number  of  plays, 
among  which  Dar  la  V'lda  por  su  Dama  has  been  persis- 
tently ascribed  to  him,  though  it  is  now  conceded  that  this 
comedia  was  written  by  Antonio  Coello. 

Philip's  taste  for  these  spectacles  was  developed  at  a 
very  early  age,  and  in  1614,  being  then. nine  years  old,  he 
appeared  as  Cupid  in  a  representation  given  by  the  prince 
and  princesses  before  the  King  and  Queen  and  ladies  of 
the  court,  the  little  Count  of  Pufionrostro  impersonating 
Venus.  The  movement  of  the  car  in  which  Cupid  came 
upon  the  stage  made  him  ill,  however,  and  "he  vomited 
twice,  though  no  other  mishap  befell  him,  and  they  say 
that  he  played  his  part  exceedingly  well,"  as  the  chronicler 
gravely  informs  us.^ 

^  So  we  are  told  by  all  writers  on  the  Spanish  drama,  but  if  we  except 
Calderon,  Bocangel  (an  insignificant  playwright),  and  D.  Jer6niino  de 
Villayzan,  whose  career  was  a  very  short  one,  I  cannot  recall  another 
instance  in  which  this  king  gave  any  substantial  aid  to  a  dramatist. 
Alarcon,  it  is  true,  held  an  unimportant  appointment  with  a  high-sounding 
title,  but  this  was  not  bestowed  upon  him  by  Philip.  Nearly  all  the  other 
dramatists  were  priests,  who  depended  upon  the  church  for  their  sub- 
sistence. The  greatest  of  them  ail  was  sorely  neglected  by  F'hilip;  the  only 
royal  favor  that  Lope  de  Vega  ever  received  was  a  pension  in  Galicia  of 
250  ducats  annually,  granted  to  him  a  few  years  before  his  death.  The 
King's  promise  to  provide  for  Lope's  son-in-law  was  never  kept.  (Life 
of  Lope  de  Vega,  pp.  376,  415.    But  see  above,  p.  37,  note  2.) 

'  "De   Madrid   8   de   Marzo   1614:  El   jueves   de   la   semana  pasada,   el 


A  FESTIVAL  AT  LERMA  233 

A  minute  account  of  another  festival  in  which  this 
princeling  took  part  has  since  been  published  by  the  Mar- 
ques de  la  Fuensanta  del  Valle  and  D.  Jose  Sancho  Rayon 
from  a  manuscript  in  possession  of  the  editors.  It  took 
place  at  Lerma  on  November  3,  16 14,  and  the  comedia 
represented  was  Lope  de  Vega's  El  Premio  de  la  Hermo- 
sura,  though  from  the  description  here  given  the  play 
must  have  differed  considerably  from  the  version  as  now 
printed  in  Lope's  Comedias,  Part  XVI,  Madrid,  1621. 
The  subject  of  the  comedia,  we  are  told,  was  taken  from 
Lope's  epic  La  Hermosura  de  Angelica:  the  costumes, 
stage  machinery,  and  decorations  are  described  in  detail, 
and  a  list  of  characters,  with  the  names  of  those  who  im- 
personated them.  Here,  too,  the  little  prince  represented 
Cupid,  and  besides  "he  threw  out  the  Loa."^ 

It  would  be  very  interesting  to  know  the  titles  of  the 
comedias  thus  privately  represented  before  the  King  and 
Queen  in  the  first  decades  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Lists  of  such  plays  have  been  published  for  the  year  1622 
and  for  subsequent  years,  and  doubtless  the  Archives  of 
the  palace  will  reveal  others  prior  to  these  dates. ^  Be- 
ginning on  October  5,  1622,  the  private  performances 
given  in  the  apartments  of  the  Queen  on  Sundays,  Thurs- 
days, and  feast-days  during  that  year,  as  first  published 
by  Schack  {Nachtrdge,  p.  66)^  were  as  follows: 

Principe  Nuestro  Senor  con  los  meninos  representaron  una  comedia  delante 
del  Rey  y  sus  Altezas  y  las  daraas,  sin  entrar  otro  ninguno;  represento  el 
Principe  al  dios  Cupido,  y  de  salir  en  un  carro  se  mareo  y  tuvo  dos 
v6initos,  pero  no  se  le  siguio  otro  mal ;  y  dicen  lo  hizo  bonisimamente,  y  el 
condecito  de  Puiio  en  Rostro  hizo  la  diosa  Venus,  y  los  otros  los  demas 
personages,  y  ha  habido  algunos  a  quien  ha  parecido  que  no  se  habia  de 
permitir  que  representase  su  Alteza,  aunque  la  poca  edad  le  disculpa;  al 
cual  se  le  ha  muerto  el  enano  Bonami,  que  el  queria  mucho,  y  lo  merecia 
porque  era  raucho  de  estimar,"  etc.     (Cabrera,  Relaciones,  p.  547.) 

^  Comedias  ineditas  de  Frey  Lope  Felix  de  Vega  Carpio.  Tomo  I, 
Madrid,  1873,  p.  479. 

"In  September,  1622,  Cristobal  Ortiz  de  Villazan  had  also  repre- 
sented three  comedias  in  the  private  apartments  of  the  Queen.  {Bull. 
Hisp.  (1908),  p.  247) 


234 


THE  SPANISH  STAGE 


COMEDIAS  REPRESENTADAS  EN  OCTUBRE: 


Autores. 


Pedro  de  Valdes. « 


Los  Celos  en  el  Caballo  (Ximenez  dc  Enciso). 
La  despreciada  Querida  (Juan  Bautista  de  Ville- 

gas). 
La  Perdida  de  Espana  (D.  Juan  de  Velasco  y 

Guzman?).     It   also  bears  the  alternative 

title  La  mas  injusta  Venganza. 


"For  these  three  comedias  900  reals  were  paid,  or  300 
reals  each,  at  the  command  of  the  Queen,  on  the  petition 
of  Jeronima  de  Burgos,  wife  of  the  said  autor,  for  prior 
to  this  only  200  reals  had  been  paid  for  the  representation 
of  a  comedia." 

Ganar  Amigos  (Alarcon). 
Rodamonte  Aragones  (Juan  Bautista 
de   Villegas).      It   also  bears   the 
alternative  title  El  valiente  Luci- 
doro.    See  Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo, 
No.  3399. 
Poderosa  es  la  Ocasion{'i).     Repre- 
sented tw^ice. 
Como   se   enganan   los   Ojos    (Juan 
Bautista  de  Villegas). 


Alonso  de  Olmedo. 


El    Labrador    venturoso    (Lope    de 

"Ve^ryT  - 

El  Infante  de  Aragon    (Andres   de 

/-•.,,,.        J  -  J       Claramonte). 

v^nstobal  de  Avcndano.        "S   n   n        4       #      t.i.  \  •    •     n 

tl  Key  Angel.     Perhaps  this  is  El 

Rey    Angel    de    Sicilia,    by    Juan 

Antonio  de   Mojica.      See  Paz  y 

Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  2901. 

The  above  three  comedias  were  represented  in  October 
and  November. 


COMEDIAS  IN  THE  PALACE 


235 


Cristobal  de  Avendano. 


Cristobal  de  Avendano. 


Cristobal  de  Avendano. 


Cautela  contra  Cautela  (Tirso  de 
Molina  and  Alarcon). 

La  Perdida  del  Rey  D.  SebastianCf). 
Perhaps  this  is  El  Rey  Don  Sebas- 
tian y  Portugues  mas  heroico,  by 
Juan  Bautista  de  Villegas.  See 
Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  2904. 

Lo  que  puede  la  Traicion{  ?). 

El  Marido  de  su  Hermana  (Juan 
Bautista  de  Villegas). 

El  Martir  de  Madrid  (Mira  de 
Mescua).  See  Paz  y  Melia,  Catd- 
loffo,  No.  2029. 

El  Labrador  venturoso  (Lope  de 
Vega). 

El    Labrador    venturoso    (Lope    de 

Vega). 
San  Bruno { ?). 
La  Caida  de  Faeton(l).     See  Paz  y 

Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  1225. 

Ir  y  quedarse{  ?). 

Quien   no  se  aventura    (Guillen  de 

Castro). 
El  Principe  ignorante(l).     Perhaps 

Lope's  El  Principe  inocente,  men- 
tioned in  his  Peregrino  en  su  Patria 

(1604). 
Mas  merece  quien  mas  ama  (Antonio 

Hurtado    de    Mendoza).    Acted 

twice. 
Las  Victorias  del  Marques  de  Canete 

(written  by  nine  Ingenios).     See 

Barrera,  Catdlogo,  p.  31.     Acted 

In  conjunction  with  the  company 

of  Valdes. 
Trances    de    Amor  (?).      Calderon 

wrote  a  play  Lances  de  Amor  y 

Fortuna,  published  in  1636. 


236 


THE  SPANISH  STAGE 


Juan  de  Morales  Medrano. 


[Manuel]  Vallejo. 


Pedro  de  Valdes. 


El  Nino  del  Senado  (  ?). 

La  Conquista  de  Jerusalen{'i).     See 
Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  1508. 
Twice  represented. 
Celos  engendran  Amor{l).^ 

Las  Pobrezas  de  Reynaldos  (Lopede 
Vega). 

La  Vengadora  de  las  Mugeres  (Lope 
de  Vega). 

El  Vencedor  vencido  en  el  Torneo. 
Perhaps  this  is  El  Vencedor  ven- 
cido,  by  D.  Juan  de  Ochoa  of 
Seville.  See  Paz  y  Melia,  Catd- 
logo, No.  3428. 

La  milagrosa  Eleccion  de  Pio  V. 
(Moreto). 

'La  Judit  Espanola(  ?) . 

La  Romera  de  Santiago  (Tirso  de 
Molina), 

Las  Pruebas  de  la  Lealtad(  ?). 

Las  Burlas  de  Pedro  de  Urdemalas 
(Lope  de  Vega?).  See  my  Life 
of  Lope  de  Vega,  p.  524. 

La  Selva  de  Amor(J).  It  cannot  be 
Selva  de  Amor  y  Celos,  by  Fran- 
cisco de  Rojas,  who  was  not  born 
till  1607.  Perhaps  it  is  Lope's 
Selvas  y  Basques  de  Amor, 

[Amorl,  Pleito  y  Desafio   (Lope  de 

Vega). 
Los  Celos  en  el  Caballo  (Ximenez  de 

Enciso).     Represented  twice. 
D.Sancho  elMaloi?). 
Las  Azanas  del  Marques  de  Canete 

(by  nine  Ingenios).     Represented 

by    Valdes    and    Avendano.     See 

above. 
La  despreciada  Querida  (Juan  Bau- 

tista  de  Villegas). 


PRIVATE  REPRESENTATIONS  1623-54    237 

The  whole  number  of  .comedlas  represented  in  the 
apartmentTof  the  Queen  from  October  5,  1622,  to  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1623,  was  forty-five. 

Another  very  important  list  of  comedias  represented 
before  Philip  the  Fourth  between  1623  and  1654  was  pub- 
lished many  years  ago  by  Sr.  Cruzada  Villaamii.^  It  con- 
sists of  about  three  hundred  titles,  beginning  with  five 
comedias  performed  by  the  company  of  Juan  Bautista  de 
Villegas,  and  including  one  (Como  se  engahan  los  Ojos) 
which  he  himself  had  written.  The  latest  play  in  the  list 
is  Calderon's  La  Hija  del  Aire,  acted  by  the  company  of 
Adrian  Lopez  in  November,  1653.  For  each  of  these 
representations  the  King  paid  200  reals. 

Of  the  private  representations  of  comedias  just  men- 
tioned, those  which  took  place  in  the  autumn  of  1622  and 
in  the  early  months  of  1623,  to  the  young  Queen,  Isabel 
of  Bourbon  (eldej^  daughter  oT  Henry  the  Fourth,  the 
"great" Bearnais,  and  first  wife  of  Philip  the  Fourth), 
were  given  in  her  private  apartments  in  the  Alcazar, 
then  the  royal  residence  in  Madrid.  She  died  on  Octo- 
ber 6,  1644.  I"  appears  that,  before  these  perform- 
ances were  given,  Philip  the  Fourth  desired  to  erect 
a  theater  in  the  palace,  and  accordingly  commanded 
that  one  should  be  built  "near  the  game  of  pelota." 
Objection  was  made  to  the  King's  plan  by  the  Coun- 
cil, and  whether  it  was  ever  carried  out  in  the  form 
proposed  I  do  not  know.^  That  representations  con- 
tinued to  be  given  in  the  Alcazar,  however,   for  some 

*In  Et  Averiguador,  Tomo  I,  Madrid,  1871.  The  great  scarcity  of  this 
publication  induced  me  to  reprint  the  list  in  the  Modern  Language  Re' 
view,  Cambridge,  England,  Vol.  II,  1907,  with  additions,  under  the  title 
"Notes  on  the  Chronology  of  the  Spanish  Drama."  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  King  was  less  liberal  than  the  Queen  in  his  expenditures  for  this 
favorite  amusement. 

'"31  Agosto  1622. — Habiendo  entendido  que  su  magestad  quiere  hacer  en 
Palacio  un  corral  de  comedias,  se  acordo  que  para  el  primero  Ayunta- 
miento  se  Uame  a  la  villa  para  tratar  dello  y  se  llame  al  Sr.  Luis  Hurtado 
particularmente  para  saber  del,  como  veedor  de  las  obras  de  su  magestad, 
lo  que  en  esto  hay. 

"Acordose  (2  Septiembre  1622)  que  se  llame  a  la  Villa  para  el  lunes  a 


238  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

years,  is  certain.  The  King,  prior  to  this,  and  until  the 
completion  of  the  sumptuous  palace,  the  Buen  Retire,  in 
1632,  had  festal  performances  given  in  the  royal  gardens 
at  Aranjuez,  where  an  immense  stage  was  constructed  by 
the  Italian  architect  Cesare  Fontana,  the  theater  being 
one  of  great  magnificence.  Here  a  splendid  festival  was 
presented  on  the  King's  seventeenth  birthday,  April  8, 
1622.  Don  Juan  de  Tarsis,  Count  of  Villamediana,  was 
the  author  of  the  comedia.  La  Gloria  de  Niquea  y  De- 
scripcion  de  Aranjuez,  which  was  presented  on  that  occa- 
sion.^ 

^In  1 63 1,  on  a  large  tract  of  land  adjoining  the  royal 
monastery  and  convent  of  San  Jeronimo,  Philip  began  the 
erection  of  a  new  royal  residence,  the  Buen  Retiro,  "a 
fantastic  palace  of  pleasure  and  pastime  which  was  to 

fin  de  tratar  del  nuevp  corral  de  comedias  que  su  magestad  es  servido 
y  manda  que  se  haga  junto  al  juego  de  pelota.  En  5  de  Septiembre  se 
acordo  hablar  al  Presidente  del  Consejo  exponiendole  los  danos  que  la 
Villa  tendria  con  la  instalacion  del  nuevo  corral  de  comedias,  pues  no 
podria  dar  a  los  hospitales  los  60,000  (ducados)  anuales  que  les  da." 
(Libros  de  Acuerdos  del  Ayuntamiento  de  Madrid.  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos 
Datos,  p.  191.) 

^  Obras  de  Don  Juan  de  Tarsis,  Conde  de  Villamediana  y  Correo  Mayor 
de  Su  Magestad,  ^aragoga,  por  Juan  de  Lanaja  y  Quartanet,  Inpresor  del 
Reino  de  Aragon  y  de  la  Universidad,  Ano  1629,  pp.  1-54.  Mr.  Martin 
Hume  gives  the  following  account  of  this  festival:  "In  the  following 
spring  of  1622  there  was  a  great  series  of  festivals  at  Aranjuez,  where 
the  court  was  then  in  residence,  to  celebrate  Philip's  seventeenth  birthday. 
Already  the  glamour  of  the  stage  had  seized  upon  Philip  and  his  wife, 
and  one  of  the  attractions  of  the  rejoicings  was  the  representation,  in  a 
temporary  theater  of  canvas  erected  amidst  the  trees  on  the  'island  gar- 
den,* and  beautifully  adorned,  of  a  comedy  in  verse  by  Count  de  Villa 
Mediana,  dedicated  to  the  Queen.  The  comedy  was  called  La  Gloria  de 
Niquea,  and  Isabel  herself  was  to  personate  the  goddess  of  beauty.  It 
was  night,  and  the  flimsy  structure  of  silk  and  canvas  was  brilliantly  lit 
with  wax  lights  when  all  the  court  had  assembled  to  see  the  show;  the 
young  King  and  his  two  brothers  and  sister  being  seated  in  front  of  the 
stage,  and  the  Queen  in  the  retiring-room  behind  the  scenes.  The  pro- 
logue had  been  finished  successfully,  and  the  audience  were  awaiting  the 
withdrawing  of  the  curtain  that  screened  the  stage,  when  a  piercing  shriek 
went  up  from  the  back,  and  a  moment  afterward  a  long  tongue  of  flame 
licked  up  half  the  drapery  before  the  stage,  and  immediately  the  whole 
place  was  ablaEe.  Panic  seized  upon  the  splendid  mob,  and  there  was  a 
rush  to  escape.     The  King  succeeded  in  fighting  his  way  out  with  diffi- 


THE  "BUEN  RETIRO"  239 

obscure  utterly  the  groves,  gardens,  and  ancient  palaces 
of  the  Pardo  and  the  Casa  de  Campo,  which  had  been 
the  delight  of  Philip  the  Second  and  Philip  the  Third."  ^ 
The  palace  was  surrounded  by  extensive  gardens,  groves, 
and^aJctificial  lakes,  and  c„ont.ained  a  magnificent  theater.  On_ 
a  portion  of  the  site  occupied  by  the  Buen  Retiro  had  for- 
merly stood  an  aviary  with  a  collection  of  poultry,  belong- 
ing to  the  Countess  of  Olivares,^  husband  of  the  King's 
favorite,  the  Cpunt-Duke  of  Olivares,  to  whose  ideas  the 
palace  owed  its  origin  and  who  was  the  leading  spirit  in  its 
erection  and  completion.  As  the  palace  and  its  gardens 
were  not  finished  until  October,  1632,  the  festival,  which 
was  one  of  the  greatest  magnificence,  given  to  the  royal 
couple  by  the  Count-Duke  on  St.  John's  eve,  1631,  took 
place  in  the  gardens  of  the  Duke  of  Maqueda  and  D.  Luis 

culty,  and  made  his  way  to  the  back  of  the  stage  in  search  of  his  wife. 
In  the  densely  wooded  gardens  that  surrounded  the  blazing  structure  he 
sought  for  a  time  in  vain,  but  at  last  found  that  Villa  Mediana  had  been 
before  him,  and  that  the  half-fainting  figure  of  the  Queen  was  lying  in 
the  Count's  arms.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  truth  of  the  matter, 
this,  at  all  events,  made  a  delightful  bonne  louche  for  the  scandalmongers, 
who  hated  Villa  Mediana  for  his  atrabilious  gibes,  and  it  soon  became 
noised  abroad  that  the  Count  had  planned  the  whole  affair,  and  had 
purposely  set  fire  to  the  theater  that  he  might  gain  the  credit  of  having 
clasped  her  in  his  arms,  if  but  for  a  moment."  {The  Court  of  Philip  IV., 
p.  58.)  Four  months  after  this,  in  August,  1622,  Villa  Mediana  was 
murdered  in  Madrid,  while  returning  home  in  his  coach,  soon  after  dark. 
An  account  of  the  above-mentioned  festival  at  Aranjuez,  and  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  magnificent  theater  erected  there  by  the  skill  of  Capitan  Julio 
Cesar  Fontana,  together  with  a  descriptive  poem  entitled  Relation  de  la 
Fiesta  de  Aranjuez  en  Verso,  by  Don  Antonio  de  Mendoza,  will  be  found 
in  that  author's  works,  entitled  El  Fenix  Castellano,  etc.,  Lisboa,  1690, 
pp.  426  ff. 

^Mesonero  Romanes,  El  Antiguo  Madrid,  Madrid,  1881,  Vol.  II,  p.  163; 
Hume,  The  Court  of  Philip  IV.,  p.  238. 

*  Hence  the  term  gallinero  sometimes  applied  to  the  palace,  but  gener- 
ally, it  seems,  to  the  theater,  for  wt  read  frequently  of  comedias 
represented  in  the  gallinero  of  the  Buen  Retiro.  Madame  d'Aulnoy's 
description  is  as  follows:  "Le  Buen  Retiro  est  une  maison  Royale  k  I'une 
des  portes  de  la  Ville.  Le  Comte-Duc  y  fit  faire  d'abord  une  petite 
maison  qu'il  nomma  Gallinero,  pour  mettre  des  poulets  fort  rares  qu'on 
lui  avait  donnees;  &  comme  il  alloit  les  voir  assez  souvent,  la  situation 
de  ce  lieu  qui  est  sur  le  penchant  d'une  colline,  &  dont  la  vue  est  tres 
agreable,    I'engagea    d'entreprendre    un    batiment    considerable.  ...  La 


240  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Mendez  de  Carrion,  which  adjoined  each  other.  During 
this  festival  two  comedias  were  represented:  Quien  mas 
miente  medra  mas,  written  by JDon  Francisco  de  Quevedo 
and  D.  Antonio  de  Mendoza,  and  performed  by  the 
company  of  Vallejo,  andJl,ope_de_\^^a's  sprightly  com- 
edy La  Nockc-df^San  Juan,  represented  by  the  company 
of  Cristobal  de  Avendario.^ 

In  October,  1632,  the  completion  of  the  Buen  Retiro 
was  celebrated  with  a  festival  of  great  splendor,  begin- 
ning with  a  cane  tourney  in  which  the  King  and  the 
Count-Duke  took  part,  followed  by  other  sports  and 
entertainments.  It  was  celebrated  by  Lope  de  Vega  in  a 
poem_entitled  ^  /^  primer  a  Fiesta  del  Palacio  nuevo.^  A 
play  for  the  solemnity  of  swearing  fealty  to  the  infant 
prince  Baltasar,  written  by  the  Prince  of  Esquilache,  and 
acted  at  the  palace  in  this  year,  is  mentioned  by  Ticknor, 
as  well  as  two  other  plays  acted  on  the  same  occasion — 
one  by  Antonio  de  Mendoza  and  the  other  by  Lopez  de 
Enciso.^ 

From  this  time  forth  representationsjn^e^heater  of 
the  Buen  Retiro  were  of  frequent  occurrence,  and,  ac- 
cording to  Pellicer,  in  1640  people  began  to  visit  them 
in  the  same  manner  as  they  did  those  in  the  Corral  de  la 
Cruz  and  in  the  Principe.^ 

Salle  pour  les  Comedies  est  d'un  beau  dessin,  fort  grande,  toute  ornee  de 
sculpture  &  de  dorure.  L'on  peut  etre  quinze  dans  chaque  lege  sans 
s'incommoder.  Elles  ont  toutes  des  jalousies,  &  celle  ou  se  met  le  Roi  est 
fort  doree.  II  n'y  a  ni  Orchestre  ni  Amphitheatre.  On  s'assit  dans  le 
parterre  sur  des  bancs."  {Relation  du  Voyage  d'Espagne,  La  Haye, 
1693,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  6.) 

^Pellicer,  H'tstrionismo,  Vol.  II,  pp.  167  flF.,  and  Hume,  The  Court  of 
Philip  IV.,  p.  231. 

'Published  in  his  Vega  del  Parnaso,  Madrid,  1637,  fol.  61,  v.  Be- 
sides the  magnificent  theater  which  the  King  had  built  in  the  palace  of 
Buen  Retiro,  spectacles  were  also  represented  upon  the  pond  in  the  gar- 
dens.   See  below. 

*  History  of  Spanish  Literature,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  48,  note. 

*  Avisos  de  Pellicer,  7  Febrero  1640.  "El  Rey  nuestro  Seiior  con  toda 
su  casa  y  la  Senora  Princesa  de  Carinan  esta  desde  el  dia  de  San  Bias 
en  el  Buen  Retiro,  donde  ha  de  tenerse  hasta  la  Quaresma.     Hase  em- 


LOPE'S  SELVA  SIN  AMOR  241 

Among  the  festal  performances  before  the  royal  family 
in  the  palace,  it  may  not  be  without  interest  to  mention 
Lope  de  Vega's  pastoral  eclogue  La  Selva  sin  Amor, 
which  was  sung  beTore'Hs  Majesty  sometime  prior  to 
November  22,  J629.  This,  as  Ticknor  says,  was  the  first  a 
attempt  to  introduce  dramatic  performances  with  music.  M 
The  eclogue  was  wholly  sung,  and,  as  Lope  himself  says, 
"it  was  a  thing  new  in  Spain."  It  was  played  with  a 
showy  apparatus  of  scenery  and  stage  machinery  prepared 
by  Cosme  Lotti,  an  Italian  architect.^  It  was  to  the  latter's 
great  skill,  moreover,  that  the  success  of  many  of  the 
sumptuous  court  representations  given  by  the  king  were  in 
no  small  measure  due.  Among  them  may  be  mentioned : 
"Circe.  A  Dramatic  Spectacle  which  was  represented  on 
the  great  pond  of  the  Retiro,  the  invention  of  Cosme  Lotti, 
at  the  request  of  her  most  excellent  Ladyship  the  Countess 
of  Olivares,  Duchess  of  San  Lucar  la  Mayor,  on  the  night 

pezado  a  representar  en  el  teatro  de  las  comedias  que  se  ha  fabricado 
dentro  y  concurre  la  gente  en  la  misma  forma  que  a  los  de  la  Cruz  y  del 
Principe,  celebrandose  para  los  Hospitales  y  autores  de  la  Farsa.  Es 
obra  grande."  (Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  72.)  "Los  Bandos  de  Verona,  de 
D.  Francisco  de  Rojas,  estrenose  el  4  de  Febrero  de  1640,  representandola 
la  compania  de  Bartolome  Romero,  y  fue  la  primera  comedia  que  se  hizo 
en  el  coliseo  del  Buen  Retiro,  asistiendo  gente  que  pago  la  entrada  como 
en  los  demas  corrales"  (Bib.  Nac,  MS.  V-48),  quoted  by  Julio  Monreal, 
Cuadros  viejos,  Madrid,  1878,  p.  124,  note. 

^History  of  Spanish  Literature,  Vol.  II,  p.  508.  He  says  further  that 
"the  earliest  of  the  full-length  plays  that  was  ever  sung  was  Calderon's 
La  Purpura  de  la  Rosa,  which  was  produced  before  the  court  in  i66o,  on 
occasion  of  the  marriage  of  Louis  the  Fourteenth  with  the  Infanta  Maria 
Theresa — a  compliment  to  the  distinguished  personages  of  France  who 
had  come  to  Spain  in  honor  of  that  great  solemnity,  and  whom  it  was 
thought  no  more  than  gallant  to  amuse  with  something  like  the  operas 
of  Quinault  and  Lulli,  which  were  then  the  most  admired  entertainments 
at  the  court  of  France."  Unfortunately  a  slight  matter  of  chronology  in- 
terferes at  this  point.  While  Quinault  and  LuIIi  collaborated  for  fourteen 
years,  producing  on  an  average  an  opera  a  year,  the  earliest.  La  Fete  de 
I' Amour  et  de  Bacchus,  was  not  brought  out  until  1672,  just  twelve  years 
after  Calderon's  La  Purpura  de  la  Rosa.  In  Perez  Pastor,  Calderon  Docu- 
mentos,  Tomo  I,  p.  277,  we  read  of  a  "fiesta  (comedia)  toda  cantada, 
de  D.  Pedro  Calderon  de  la  Barca,  que  se  habia  de  hacer  e!  domingo 
28  deste  mes  [Noviembre  1660]  a  los  anos  del  Principe,  Nuestro  Sefior." 
This   was,    doubtless.   La   Purpura   de   la   Rosa.    Lope    de    Vega's    dedi- 


242  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

of  St.  John  [June  24,  1 634  ?]  .^  Also  Calderon's  El  mayor 
Encanto  Amor,  "a  jiesta  which  was  represented  before  his 
Majesty  on  St.  John's  eve  in  the  year  1635,  on  the  pond 
of  the  royal  palace  of  the  Buen  Retiro,"  and  Los  tres 
mayores  Prodigios,  a  festival  also  produced  in  the  Retiro 
on  the  St.  John's  eve  of  the  following  year.  These  plays 
were  given  in  the  open  air,  and  in  the  latter  case  the  three 
acts  were  represented  on  separate  stages,  besidie  one  an- 
other, each  act  by  a  different  company  of  players:  the  first 
act  on  the  stage  on  the  right  hand  by  Tomas  Fernandez, 
the  second  act  on  the  left  by  Pedro  de  la  Rosa,  and  the 

cation  of  the  Selva  sin  Amor  to  the  Almirante  de  Castilla  is  so  im- 
portant for  the  history  of  the  stage  of  the  time  that  I  give  the 
most  interesting  parts  of  it:  "No  aviendo  visto  V.  Excelencia  esta 
Egloga,  que  se  represento  cantada  a  sus  Magestades  y  Altezas,  cosa 
nueua  en  Espaiia,  me  parecio  imprimiria,  para  que  desta  suerte,  con 
menos  cuydado  la  imaginasse  V.  Excelencia,  etc.  ...  La  maquina  del 
Teatro  hizo  Cosme  Lotti  ingeniero  Florentin,  por  quien  su  Magestad 
embio  a  Italia,  para  que  assistiesse  a  su  seruicio  en  jardines,  fuentes, 
y  otras  cosas,  en  que  tiene  rare  y  excelente  ingenio.  ...  La  primera 
vista  del  Teatro,  en  aviendo  corrldo  la  tienda  que  le  cubria  [it  will 
be  observed  that  here  there  was  an  outer  curtain],  fue  un  Mar  en 
perspectiua,  que  descubria  a  los  ojos  (tanto  puede  el  Arte)  muchas  leguas 
de  agua  hasta  la  Ribera  opuesta,  en  cuyo  puerto  se  vian  la  ciudad,  y  el 
Faro  con  algunas  Naues,  que  haziendo  salva  disparauan,  a  quien  tambien 
de  los  Castillos  respondian.  Vianse  assimismo  algunos  pezes,  que  fluc- 
tuauan,  segun  el  mouimiento  de  las  ondas,  que  con  la  misma  inconstancia, 
que  si  fueran  verdaderas,  se  inquietauan,  todo  con  luz  artificial,  sin  que 
se  viesse  ninguna,  y  siendo  las  que  formauan  aquel  fingido  dia  mas  de 
trezientas.  Aqui  Venus  en  un  carro  que  tirauan  dos  Cisnes,  hablo  con  el 
Amor  su  hijo,  que  por  lo  alto  de  la  maquina  rebolaua.  Los  instrumentos 
ocupauan  la  primera  parte  del  Teatro,  siu  ser  vistos,  a  cuya  armonia 
cantauan  las  figuras  los  versos,  haziendo  en  la  misma  composicion  de  la 
Musica,  las  admiraciones,  las  quexas,  los  amores,  las  iras,  y  los  demas 
afectos.  Para  el  discurso  de  los  Pastores  se  disparecio  el  Teatro  mari- 
timo,  sin  que  este  mouimiento,  con  ser  tan  grande,  le  pudiesse  penetrar  la 
vista,  transformandose  el  Mar  en  una  selva,  que  significaua  el  soto  de 
Manganares,  con  la  puente,  por  quien  passauan  en  perspectiua  quantas 
cosas  pudieron  ser  imitadas  de  las  que  entran  y  salen  en  la  Corte:  y 
assimismo  se  vian  la  casa  del  campo  y  el  Palacio,  con  quanto  desde 
aquella  parte  podia  determinar  la  vista,  .  .  ."  etc.  {Laurel  de  Apolo, 
Madrid,  1630,  fol.  103.) 

'Pellicer,  Histrionismo,  Vol.  II,  p.  146.  A  translation  of  this  curious 
document  will  be  found  in:  Love  the  greatest  Enchantment,  The  Sorceries 
of  Sin,  The  Devotion  of  the  Cross,  from  the  Spanish  of  Calderon,  by 
Denis  Florence  Mac-Carthy,  London,  i86i,  p.  5. 


ST.  JOHN'S  EVE  243 

third  upon  the  middle  stage  by  the  company  of  Antonio  de 
Prado.i 

These  private  representations  before  the  King  by  the 
various  theatrical  companies  which  happened  to  be  in 
Madrid  were  of  very  frequent  occurrence.  Certain 
actors  or  actresses  whom  the  King  especially  desired  were 
called  from  other  cities,  and  sometimes  entire  companies 
were  thus  commanded  by  the  King  for  these  private  func- 

^  Calderon,  Comedias,  Part  II,  Madrid,  1637.  My  copy  is  of  the  second 
edition,  Madrid,  1641,  where  the  play  begins  on  fol.  257.  It  is  preceded 
by  a  Loa.  These  plays  were  produced  upon  a  floating  theater  "which  the 
wasteful  extravagance  of  the  Count-Duke  of  Olivares  had  erected  on  the 
artificial  waters  in  the  gardens  of  the  Buen  Retiro."  In  the  concluding 
verses  of  the  play  Calderon  says  that  "the  water  was  very  happy  on  this 
gracious  night."  Ticknor,  however,  states  that  "a  storm  of  wind  scattered 
the  vessels,  the  royal  party,  and  a  supper  that  was  also  among  the  floating 
arrangements  of  the  occasion,  prepared  by  Cosme  Lotti,  the  Florentine 
architect,"  though  the  play  was  successfully  acted  several  times  during 
the  month.  He  fixes  the  date  as  June  12,  1639,  which,  however,  was 
certainly  not  its  first  representation.  (History  of  Spanish  Literature, 
Vol.  II,  p.  481,  note.)  Ticknor's  source  of  information  was  probably  the 
Ancles  de  Madrid  of  Antonio  Leon  Pinelo,  who,  under  the  year  1640, 
says:  "La  noche  de  San  Juan  hubo  en  el  Retiro  muchos  festines,  y  entre 
ellos  una  Comedia  representada  sobre  el  Estanque  grande  con  maquinas, 
tramoyas,  luces  y  toldos:  todo  fundado  sobre  las  barcas.  Estando  repre- 
sentando,  se  levanto  un  torbellino  de  viento  tan  furioso,  que  lo  desbarato 
todo,  y  algunas  personas  peligraron  de  golpes  y  caidas."  (Quoted  by 
Pellicer,  Histrionismo,  Vol.  I,  p.  193.  See  the  very  interesting  note  on 
St.  John's  eve,  in  Don  Quixote,  ed.  Clemencin,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  259  ff.)  A  num- 
ber of  these  particulares,  as  private  performances  were  called,  belonging 
to  a  somewhat  later  period,  are  mentioned  by  Schack,  Nachtrdge,  pp.  73, 
74,  among  them  being  the  comedia  of  Antonio  de  Sol  is,  Psiquis  y  Cupido, 
which  was  produced  in  the  Buen  Retiro  on  a  scale  of  great  magnificence, 
the  machinery  for  it  being  especially  constructed  by  the  Italian  engineer 
Maria  Antonozzi.  It  appears  that,  beginning  on  October  29,  1661,  the 
theatrical  representations  in  the  palace  were  in  charge  of  the  Marquis  of 
Heliche,  while  those  in  the  Buen  Retiro  were  under  the  superintendence  of 
the  Duke  of  Medina  de  las  Torres.  {Ibid.,  p.  74,  and  see  especially  Perez 
Pastor,  Calderon  Documentos,  Vol.  I,  and  the  Poesias  de  Solis,  Madrid, 
1692,  passim.)  Concerning  the  sums  of  money  expended  by  Philip  IV. 
on  these  private  representations,  Barrionuevo  tells  us  that  a  comedia 
sometimes  cost  the  King  as  much  as  50,000  ducats.  Under  date  of 
January  23,  1655,  he  writes:  "Vendra  el  Rey,  Sabado,  30  de  este,  derecho 
a  Palacio,  que  no  va  al  Retiro,  como  solia,  por  estarle  preparando  una 
Comedia  en  el,  de  tramoyas,  que  dicen  costara  mas  de  50,000  ducados;  que 
por  aca  no  se  trata  sino  de  pasar  alegremente  esta  pobre  vida,  de  donde 
diere  y  quede  lo  que  quedare."  (Avisos,  Vol.  I,  p.  213.)  The  same  writer 
also  chronicles  the  following:  "Miercoles  17  de  este  [Enero  de  1657]   se 


244  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

tions/  though  they  had  been  announced  to  appear  In  the 
public  theaters,  which  were  frequently  closed  on  that  ac- 
count.^ 

Among  the  dramatists  of  the  time  an  especial  favorite 
of  the  King  was  Don  Jeronlmo  de  Vlllayzan  y  Garces.  It 
•Is  said  that  Philip  used  to  go  Incognito  to  the  Corral  de  la 
Cruz  to  see  Vlllayzan's  comedlas  acted,  entering  his  box 
by  a  passage  from  the  Plazuela  del  Angel.  It  was,  more- 
over, the  common  report  at  the  time  that  Vlllayzan  aided 
the  King  In  his  dramatic  labors.^  Certain  It  Is  that  before 
January,  1623,  when  Vlllayzan  was  not  yet  nineteen  years 
of  age,  one  of  his  comedlas,  Transformaciones  de  Amor, 
was  represented  privately  before  the  King  by  the  company 

hizo  en  la  Zarzuela  la  comedia  grande  que  el  de  Liche  tenia  dispuesta 
para  el  festejo  de  los  Reyes.  Costo  16,000  ducados,  que  pago  de  su  orden 
e!  Conde  de  Pezuela.  .  .  .  Todas  las  tramoyas  y  aparatos  se  han  traido 
del  Retire,  al  nuevo  coliseo  que  se  ha  hecho  en  la  ermita  de  San  Pablo, 
para  tornarla  a  hacer  este  Carnaval.  .  .  .  Dio  Liche  i  D.  Pedro  Calderon 
200  doblones  per  la  comedia,"  etc.     {A-visos,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  176.) 

*  See  above,  p.  198. 

'"Madrid,  20  Diciembre  1656. — Peticion  de  los  arrendadores  de  los 
corrales  contra  Pedro  de  la  Rosa,  que  no  represent©  en  los  dias  15  y  16  de 
Diciembre  porque,  segun  confiesa,  estuvo  estudiando  y  ensayando  la  fiesta 
de  los  anos  de  la  Reina,  que  se  ha  de  hacer  el  22  del  presente  mes. 
Tampoco  represent©  el  dia  18,  aunque  tenia  puesto  carteles  para  hacer  la 
comedia  El  Conde  Lucanor  [atribuida  a  Calderon].  (Perez  Pastor,  Calde- 
ron Documentos,  Vol.  I,  p.  243.)  Again,  we  read  in  a  notarial  certificate 
dated  Madrid,  February  24,  1657:  "Y  ansimismo  doy  fee  vi  cerrados  los 
corrales  el  lunes  de  Carnestolendas,  doze  de  dicho  mes,  por  haber  ido  al 
Retiro  las  companias  de  Pedro  de  la  Rosa  y  Diego  Osorio  a  hacer  la 
fiesta  de  la  Zarzuela  conducidos  por  el  alguacil  de  corte  Joseph  Caballero 
y  vi  conducir  las  dichas  companias,  y  este  dia  no  represent©  Francisco 
Garcia  por  haberle  llevado  las  mugeres  al  ensayo  de  la  comedia  de  Don 
Pedro  Calderon,  que  se  hizo  el  martes  siguiente  a  Su  Magestad."  {Ibid., 
p.  244.  See  also  pp.  277,  280,  et  passim.)  It  appears  that  the  King  did 
not  always  go  to  the  theater  for  the  sole  purpose  of  seeing  the  play. 
The  following  curious  bit  of  news  is  chronicled  by  Barrionuevo  under 
date  of  February  27,  1656:  "S.  M.  ha  mandado  no  vayan  mafiana  a  la 
Comedia  sino  solas  mujeres,  sin  guarda-infantes,  porque  quepan  mas,  y 
se  dice  la  quiere  ver  con  la  Reina  en  las  celosias,  y  que  tienen  algunas 
ratoneras  con  mas  de  100  ratones  cebados  en  ellas  para  soltarlos  en  lo 
mejor  de  la  fiesta,  asi  en  cazuela  como  en  patio,  que  si  sucede,  sera  mucho 
de  ver,  y  entretenimiento  para  SS.  MM."     {Afisos,  Vol.  II,  p.  308.) 

'Barrera,  Catdlogo  bibliogrdfico  y  biografico  del  Teatro  antlguo  es- 
panol,  p.  491. 


JERONIMO  DE  VILLAYZAN  245 

of  Juan  Bautista  de  Villegas.^  Another,  Sufrir  mas  por 
Querer  mas,  was  acted  before  the  King  some  time  prior  to 
November,  1632,  and  again  on  October  17,  1637,  and  it 
pleased  the  King  so  greatly  that  he  commanded  that  it 
should  not  at  that  time  be  represented  elsewhere.^  Still 
another  of  his  comedias,  Ofender  con  las  Finezas,  was 
played  before  the  King  by  the  company  of  Manuel 
Vallejo  on  February  5,  1632,  and  again  on  November 
13,  1633.^  Villayzan  died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
nine,  in  1633,  in  which  year  his  friend  Lope  de  Vega 
published  an  elegy  on  his  death.^ 

During  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  reign  of  Philip 
the  Fourth,  comedias  continued  to  be  represented,  pre- 
sumably, in  accordance  with  the  restrictions  prescribed 
by  the  decree  of  161 5.  That  this  decree  was  a  dead 
letter  is  evinced  by  the  fact  that  a  new  series  of  regu- 
lations for  the  theater  was  issued  in  1641,  at  the  in- 
stafnre  of  D.  Antonio  de  Contreras,  "of  the  Council 
and  Chamber  of  his  Majesty."  These  regulations,  how- 
ever, did  not  differ  in  any  essential  particular  from  those 
of  161 5 ;  indeed,  most  of  the  articles  were  a  literal  repeti- 
tion of  the  previous  decree.  Here  and  there  slight 
changes  were  made,  as,  for  instance,  no  woman  above  the 
age  of  twelve  years  shall  be  allowed  to  act  unless  she  be 
married,  nor  shall  any  manager  permit  her  to  be  in  his 
company,  if  she  be  unmarried;  also  that  no  person,  what- 
ever be  his  quality  or  condition,  be  allowed  to  enter  the 
retiring-room  of  the  players,  under  penalty  of  20,000 

*  See  my  "Notes  on  the  Chronology  of  the  Spanish  Drama,"  in  Modern 
Language  Remeiu,"  Vol.  Ill  (1907). 

"Barrera,  Catdlogo,  p.  492.  The  play  must  have  been  originally  repre- 
sented before  the  King  some  time  prior  to  1632,  for  in  November  of  that 
year  it  belonged  to  the  repertory  of  Andres  de  la  Vega,  a  theatrical 
manager.     (Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  226.) 

^Modern  Language  Review,  Vol.  Ill  (1907),  p.  48. 

*  Elegia  a  la  Muerte  de  D.  Geronimo  de  Villaizan,  por  su  amigo  Frey 
Lope  Felix  de  Vega  Carpio. — En  Madrid  por  Francisco  Martinez,  ano 
1633.    See  Gallardo,  Ensayo  de  una  Biblioteca  espanola,  Tomo  IV,  p.  977. 


246  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

maravedis  for  the  first  offense,  and  for  a  second  infraction 
under  such  penalty  as  the  Consejo  Protector  may  declare. 
A  like  penalr\'  is  provided  in  the  case  of  men  found  in  the 
entrances  or  exits  oi  the  women. ^ 

According  to  an  Aviso  dated  March  i,  1644,-  the  chief 
subject  of  gossip  in  Madrid  at  that  time  was  the  restric- 
tions and  regulations  imposed  upon  comedias  and  players 
by  D.  Antonio  de  Contreras.  Provisions  are,  however, 
alluded  to  which  are  not  contained  in  the  above-mentioned 
decree  of  1641.  among  them  that  "henceforth  no  comedia 
which  is  the  author's  own  invention  may  be  represented.^ 
but  only  histories  or  the  lives  of  saints,"  and  that  no  actor 
or  actress  may  appear  upon  the  stage  in  costumes  of  gold  or 
telas.  Moreover,  a  new  comedia,  never  seen  before,  may 
be  represented  only  every  eight  days,  and  "the  Senores 
may  not  visit  any  actress  more  than  twice."* 

On  the  death  of  the  Queen,  Isabel  of  Bourbon,  first 
wife  of  Philip  the  Fourth,  on  October  6,  1644,  the  thea- 
ters were  again  closed.  How  long  this  interruption  lasted 
in  Madrid,  I  do  not  know.  In  Seville,  at  all  events,  repre- 
sentations were  given  in  1645,  ^'^^  i^  May  of  that  year  the 
companies  of  Luis  Lopez  and  Lorenzo  Hurtado  de  la 
Camara  were  acting  in  that  cit)'.^     The  autos  were  regu- 

'  This  regulation  of  1641  was  first  published  by  Sepiilveda,  El  Corral  de 
la  Pacheca,  pp.  556  ff.  It  is  now  reprinted  in  full  in  Cotarelo  y  Mori, 
Controiersias,  pp.  632,  633. 

"In  a  MS.  Cod.  12  of  the  National  Library.  Pellicer,  Histrionismo, 
Vol.  I.  p.  220. 

*  This  provision,  Pellicer  states,  was  intended  to  prohibit  the  writing  of 
"comedias  de  amores  y  de  galanteos,  las  quales  se  llaraaban  Comedias 
de  capa  y  espada." 

*  How  this  last  regulation  was  to  be  enforced  against  the  Senores  we 
are  not  told,  but  as  verj- few  of  the  provisions  of  these  theatrical  ordinances 
seem  ever  to  have  been  observed,  this  one,  which  allowed  the  Senores 
but  two  visits  to  an  actress,  was  quite  gratuitous.  Still,  as  this  provision 
doubtless  concerned  a  ver>-  large  class,  it  offered  the  more  timid  admirers 
a  loophole  of  escape  in  the  very  remote  contingency  of  their  being  appre- 
hended on  a  second  visit. 

*  Sanchez-ArjoDa,  Anales,  p.  374. 


DEATH  OF  PRINCE  BALTASAR         247 

larly  presented  in  Madrid  In   1645,  Calderon  receiving 
300  ducats  vellon  for  writing  them.^ 

Once  more,  on  October  9,  1646,  the  theaters  were 
closed  on  account  of  the  death  of  Prince  Baltasar.  This 
again  raised  the  question  of  whether  comedlas  should  be 
permitted,  and,  according  to  Pelllcer,  ja^xouncil  of  theo-, 
loglans  again  submitted  some  regulations — "bastante  di- 
fiasas**— to  the  King,  recommending  that  for  the  present 
comedlas  be  suspended,  beginning  with  "Pasqua  de  Flo- 
res."  They  explain  what  they  mean  by  "for  the  present," 
alleging,  among  other  reasons,  "4antll  God  may  be  pleased 
to  put  an  end  to  the  wars  with  Portugal  in  which  Castile 
is  jLQw^^ngaged."  Among  the  conditions  recommended 
by  them  were :  "That  the  companies  should  be  reduced  to 
the  number  of  six  or  eight,  and  that  the  companias  de  la 
legua,  which  are  composed  of  gente  perdida,  who  travel 
through  the  smaller  towns,  should  be  prohibited;  that  the 
comedlas  to  be  represented  relate  to  some  proper  and 
moral  subject  or  concern  the  life  or  death  of  some  exem- 
plary person  or  some  noble  deed,  and  that  they  should  be 
without  Intermixture  of  any  love-affair,  and  that,  in  order 
to  attain  this  end,  nearly  all  the  comedlas  that  had  been 
represented  down  to  that  time  should  be  prohibited,  espe- 
cially those  of  Lope  de  Vega,  which  had  worked  such 
harm  In  the  customs  of  the  people."  They  provided, 
further,  that  no  ^gmedla  may  be  represented  without 
previously  obtaining  a  license ;  that  the  costumes  of  the 
players  be  reformed,  especially  the  guar dainf antes  (very 
wide  hoop-skirts  (of  the  women  and  the  decollete  gowns^ 

'  Perez  Pastor,  Calderon  Documentos,  Vol.  I,  p.  126. 

^  Pellicer  {Histrionismo,  Vol.  I,  p.  218,  note)  says:  "Esta  moda  llamada 
el  Degollado  continuo  con  el  nombre  de  el  Escotado,  porque  consistia  en 
usar  las  mugeres  unos  jubones  escotados,  que  daban  lugar  a  descubrir  la 
garganta,  la  espalda  y  los  pechos,  cuyo  escandaloso  uso,  despues  de  haber 
dado  copioso  materia  a  los  Teologos  moralistas,  dio  motivo  a  un  Real 
Decreto,  que  le  prohibio,  permitiendole  solamente  a  las  mugeres  publicas." 


248  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

and  strange  head-dresses;  that  players  be  permitted  to 
wear  only  one  costume  in  any  one  play,  except  where  the 
change  is  exacted  by  the  comedia,  nor  shall  women  wear 
men's  attire,  and  their  skirts,  moreover,  must  reach  to  the 
£eet,  etc.  Dances  also  were  regulated;  only  married 
women  were  allowed  to  act  or  dance,  only  players  were 
permitted  to  enter  the  green-rooms,  and  comedias  were  to 
be  begun  at  two  o'clock  in  winter  and  at  three  in  summer, 
so  that  the  play  may  be  over  before  dark.^ 

There  is  much  uncertainty  concerning  the  date  on  which 
comedias  were  again  allowed  to  be  represented  upon  the 
public  stage  at  Madrid  after  the  death  of  Prince  Balta- 
sar.  It  appears  there  had  been  no  plays  acted  in  the 
theaters  of  Seville  and  Madrid,  at  all  events,  even  for 
some  time  prior  to  the  Prince's  death, — since  Shrovetide, 
1646.2 

We  know  that  the  autos  were  represented  in  Madrid  as 
usual  in  1648,  for  Calderon  wrote  them  and  received  300 
ducats  for  them;^  the  theaters  of  Seville  were  also  open  in 
this  year,*  though  there  had  been  no  representations  dur- 
ing the  preceding  year,  as  we  have  just  seen,  nor  were  any 
autos  presented  in  Seville  in  1648,  the  theaters  not  re- 
suming until  September  15,  when  the  company  of  Esteban 
Nunez  began  forty  performances  in  the  Coliseo.  The 
pest  was  prevalent  in  Andalucia  during  the  years  1646-49, 
the  theaters  being  finally  closed  in  the  latter  year  on  ac- 
count of  the  havoc  wrought  by  the  contagion,  though  rep- 
resentations were  resumed  in  Seville  in  1650.^ 

Sometime   during  the   period    1646-47    a   number   of 

^Pellicer,  Histrionlsmo,  Vol.  I,  pp.  217-220. 

'  "En  el  manuscrito  de  Noticias  y  casos  memorables  de  la  ciudad  de 
Sevilla,  que  procedente  de  la  biblioteca  del  senor  Conde  del  Aguila  se 
conserva  en  el  Ayuntamiento,  se  dice: — 1646.  Este  afio  prohibi6  el  Con- 
sejo  las  comedias;  a  lo  menos  en  Sevilla  y  Madrid  no  las  hubo  desde 
Carnestolendas."  (Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  379.) 

'  Calderon  Documentos,  Vol.  I,  p.  163. 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  380. 

'Ibid.,  pp.  383-386. 


THE  THEATERS  CLOSED  249 

autores  de  comedias  petitioned  the  King  for  permission 
to  again  represent  comedias,  alleging  various  reasons  and 
requesting  the  King  to  command  that  comedias  be  freed 
of  all  indecent  or  objectionable  features,  etc.^ 

According  to  Pellicer,  the  cities  that  were  most  in- 
sistent upon  the  reopening  of  the  theaters  were  Zaragoza 
and  Valencia.  Already  in  1650  and  1651,  he  continues, 
comedias  were  again  being  acted  in  the  King's  palace ^  in 
Madrid,  and  in  the  other  chief  cities  of  Castile,  and  now 
this  permission  was  extended  to  Zaragoza.  With  this 
example  before  it,  the  city  of  Valencia  renewed  its  peti- 

^"Peticion  hecha  en  Cortes  a  S.  M.  para  que  no  se  prohiban  las  Come- 
dias:— Por  algunos  autores  de  Comedias  se  a  signlficado  al  Reyno  =  El 
Reyno  haviendo  reconocido  que  la  mayor  parte  de  lo  que  se  saca  de  las 
comedias  se  convierte  en  diferentes  obras  pias  como  son  Hospitales  .  .  . 
y  importar  en  cada  un  ano  mas  de  80  mil  ducados  y  ser  evidente  que 
zesando  el  uso  dellas,  las  giudades  an  de  eligir  otros  medios  para 
suplirlos  (por  ser  tan  preziso  y  nezessario  no  faltar  a  cosa  tan  meneste- 
rosa)  y  que  estos  recarguen  sobre  los  muchos  que  estan  impuestos  y  que 
los  pobres  bengan  a  ser  gravados  en  ellos,  quando  eran  exemptos  de  lo 
que  se  sacava  de  las  comedias  y  que  cada  uno  lo  pagava  voluntariamente,  y 
generalmente  ser  los  mas  acomodados  y.llegarse  asta  aver  sido  de  general 
desconsuelo  para  todos  el  que  se  aya  mandado  zesen  las  comedias  porque 
como  ordinariamente  no  tenian  otro  divertimiento  y  que  en  lo  aparente 
siempre  se  a  tenido  por  licito  y  no  perjudicial  ni  danoso  a  la  Republica, 
pues  a  averlo  sido  en  tantos  anos  como  ha  que  se  introdujeron  asi  en 
estos  Reynos  como  en  todos  los  de  Europa,  se  hubiera  rresuelto  zesasen,  y 
por  ser  un  tiempo  en  que  todos  se  hallan  con  tantos  rrogos  y  afli^iones,  les 
es  mas  sensible  el  que  les  falte  este  entretenimiento ;  por  cuyas  rragones 
suplica  el  Reyno  a  V.  Md.  se  sirva  de  mandar  se  continuen  y  hagan  las 
dichas  comedias  dando  orden  se  reforme  la  parte  que  tuvieren  de  pro- 
fanidad  6  indegencia  6  que  mirasen  a  dar  mal  exemplo  y  que  las  justicias 
pongan  particular  cuidado  en  que  se  escusen  las  disensiones  y  alborotos, 
que  suelen  ofrecerse  entre  la  gente  oqiosa  y  mal  entretenida  con  que 
pareze  se  rreparar^n  los  danos  que  de  hazerse  las  comedias  se  an  experi- 
mentado  rresultan ;  y  porque  las  personas  de  quien  se  componen  no  se 
dividan  ni  ausenten  destos  Reynos  en  caso  que  V.  Md.  tenga  por  bien 
de  condezender  con  esta  suplica,  convendra  que  con  toda  brevedad  se 
tome  rresolucion  a  ella  porque  de  dilatarse  sea  muy  dificil  el  bolverse  a 
juntar  este  genero  de  gente.  V.  Md.  mandara  lo  que  mas  convenga,"  etc. 
(Archivo  general  Central,  entre  los  papeles  correspondientes  a  los  anos 
1646-1647.    Revista  de  Archivos  (1883),  pp.  179,  180.) 

*Two  years  before,  in  1648,  Antonio  de  Prado  had  represented  eleven 
comedias  privately  before  the  King  and  Queen,  and  the  company  of 
Juana  de  Espinosa  had  performed  eight  before  March,  1647.  {El  Averi- 
guador,  Tomo  I  (1871),  p.  170.) 


ISO  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

tion  and  induced  the  Council  to  consult  the  King  on  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1 65 1.  To  this  consulta  the  King  replied  with 
a  decree  permitting  "comedias  de  historias,  as  they  are 
represented  in  Madrid,"  to  be  performed  in  Valencia 
also.^ 

The  first  comedia  represented  in  Madrid  when  the 
theaters  were  reopened  was  Santa  Maria  Magdalena.^ 
That  theatrical  companies,  however,  were  acting  in  other 
parts  of  Spain  prior  to  1650  is  a  well-attested  fact.  In 
1649,  during  the  journey  of  the  new  Queen,  Dona  Mari- 
ana de  Austria,  from  Vienna,  the  company  of  Roque  de 
Figueroa  represented  a  comedy  before  the  King  on  one  of 
the  royal  vessels  lying  at  Tarragona.^ 

Another  royal  order,  chiefly  concerning  the  abuses  that 
had  gradually  been  introduced  in  the  matter  of  women's 
costumes  on  the  public  stage,  and  which  the  decree  of  1646 
had  been  intended  to  remedy,  was  issued  on  January  i, 
1653.^  On  the  death  of  Philip  the  Fourth  (Septem- 
ber 17,  1665),  the  theaters  were  once  more  closed,  and  a 

*  "En  esta  Corte  se  ha  ido  tolerando  el  que  haya  Comedias  de  historias, 
y  en  la  forma  que  el  Consejo  tendra  entendido;  y  si  este  ano  se  per- 
mitieren,  podri  correr  en  Valencia  lo  mismo,  precediendo  su  examen  y 
moderacion  al  exemplo  de  lo  que  se  hiciese  aqui;  pues  el  conceder  k  los 
pueblos  algun  licito  desahogo  parece  preciso."  (Pelllcer,  Histrionismo, 
Tomo  I,  p.  223.) 

'  Loc.  cit.,  p.  223.  A  number  of  comedias  bearing  this  title  have 
survived,  and  it  is  impossible  to  determine  which  one  is  here  meant. 
The  thirst  for  novelty  would  preclude  Lope's  play,  which  was  written 
before  1618.  The  comedia  so  entitled  by  Luis  Velez  de  Guevara  (who 
died  in  1644)  is  of  unknown  date.  It  may  be  Jacinto  Maluenda's  La 
Magdalena.    See  Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  704. 

'  "Mientras  los  esclavos  hizieron  aguada,  entretuvo  S.  M.  el  tiempo, 
oyendo  una  comedia  que  Roque  de  Figueroa,  Autor  dellas,  represento  en 
la  Antepopa  de  la  Real  con  su  Compania,  que  entonces  acaso  se  hallava 
en  Tarragona."  {Real  Viage  de  la  Reyna  N.  S.  Dona  Mariana  de  Austria 
desde  la  Corte  de  Viena  hasta  estos  sus  Reynos  de  Espana,  Madrid,  1649, 
quoted  by  Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  73.) 

*This  decree  was  first  published  by  Schack  {Nachtrdge,  p.  80)  from 
a  MS.  in  the  Royal  Academy  of  History  at  Madrid.  It  is  as  follows: 
"Quando  permiti  que  volviesen  las  comedias  (que  se  avian  suspendido 
por  los  desordenes  y  relaxacion  de  trages  y  representaciones  que  se  avian 
esperimentado)  fue  con  orden  preciso  que  eso  se  executase  con  atencion 
muy  particular  a   la   reformacion   de   los  trages  y   a   la   decencia  de   las 


THE  THEATERS  OPENED  IN   1666      251 

decree  was  issued  by  the  Queeiij  Dona  Mariana  of  Aus- 
tria, on  September  22,  1665,  prohibiting  the  representa- 
tion of  comedias  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  declaring 
"that  they  shall  cease  entirely  until  the  King,  my  son,  shall 
be  of  an  age  to  enjoy  them."^  The  theaters  remained 
closed,  however,  but  little  more  than  a  year,  when  the  city 
of  Madrid,  on  November  17,  1666,  petitioned  the  Queen 
Regent  that  they  be  reopened.  The  question  was  again 
referred  to  the  Council,  who  threshed  the  whole  matter 
over  once  more,  with  the  inevitable  result  that  a  decree 
was  issued,  on  November  30,  again  permitting  the  repre- 
sentation of  comedias, 2  which  were  continued  until  July 
14,  idSji^-wJtien  the  theaters  were  again  closed  on  account 
of  the  pest. 

representaciones  que  se  havra  de  obserbar,  de  suerte  que  no  hubiese,  ni 
en  lo  uno  ni  en  lo  otro,  cosa  alguna  que  ofendiese  la  publica  honestidad. 
Y  porque  he  entendido  que  en  esto  se  falta  gravemente  en  las  partes  donde 
se  representa  y  que  los  trages  no  son  con  la  moderacion  y  ajustamiento 
que  se  deve,  os  ordeno  que  embieis  ordenes  a  la  Corona  en  todo  aprieto 
(de  suerte  que  se  observen  precisa  y  indispensablemente)  que  ninguna 
muger  pueda  salir  al  teatro  en  havito  de  hombre,  y  que  si  huviere  de 
ser  preciso  para  la  representacion  que  hagan  estos  papeles,  sea  con  trage 
tan  ajustado  y  modesto,  que  de  ninguna  manera  se  les  descubran  las 
piernas  ni  los  pies,  sino  que  esto  este  siempre  cubierto  con  los  vestidos  6 
trages,  que  ordinariamente  usan,  o  con  alguna  sotana,  de  manera  que 
solo  se  diferenzie  el  trage  de  la  cintura  arriba  iraponiendoles  las  penas 
que  OS  pareciere  y  disponiendo  que  inviolablemente  se  executen  en  las 
que  contravinieren  al  cumplimiento  de  la  orden  referida. — Rubricado  de 
la  real  mano  de  S.  M.— Madrid,  a  1°  de  Enero  de  1653.— Al  Vicecanciller 
de  Aragon."    This  decree  is  also  now  printed  in  Cotarelo,  Controversias, 

P-  635- 

^"El  sentimiento  a  que  ha  obligado  la  falta  del  Rey  nuestro  Senor,  pide 
que  prohiba  generalmente  en  todos  estos  Reynos  el  representar  Comedias, 
y  asi  mando  se  den  luego  por  el  Consejo  las  ordenes  necesarias  para  que 
cesen  enteramente,  hasta  que  el  Rey  mi  hijo  tenga  edad  para  gustar  de 
ellas."     (Pellicer,  Histrionismo,  Vol.  I,  p.  270.) 

^  Ibid.,  pp.  271-274. 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  "Partidas"  of  Alfonso  the  Learned  concerning  secular  plays. 
The  church  and  the  theater.  Public  players  declared  infamous. 
Opposition  of  the  clergy  to  the  theater.  It  is  mostly  due  to  the 
players.     Character  of  the  actresses. 

The  fact  that  the  modern  theater  had  its  origin  in  the 
liturgical  services  of  the  early  Christian  church  naturally 
induced  that  body,  as  the  great  conservator  of  public 
morals,  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  on  the  growing  popularity 
and  development  of  the  religious  celebrations  and  repre- 
sentations, which  finally  culminated  in  the  profane  thea- 
ter. 

The  Partidas  of  Alfonso  the  Learned,  written  between 
1252  and  1257,  had  already  declared  what  part  the  clergy 
might  take  in  these  representations,  namely:  "that  re- 
ligious persons  {clerigos)  may  not  be  actors  in  the  farcical 
plays  {juegos  de  escarnios),^  so  that  people  come  to 
see  them,  how  they  are  acted.  And  if  other  persons  rep- 
resent them,  the  clergy  shall  not  come  to  see  them,  for 
much  clownishness  and  lewdness  are  committed  in  them. 
Nor  shall  these  things  be  done  in  the  church;  rather  do 
we  declare  that  those  who  do  these  things  sliall  be  driven 
from  the  church  in  disgrace,  for  the  church  of  God  is  in- 
tended for  prayers  and  not  for  lewd  plays.  But  the  clergy 
may  represent  such  matters  as  the  birth  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  in  which  is  shown  how  the  angel  descended  to  the 

^Ticknor,  History  of  Spanish  Literature,  Vol.  I,  p.  269,  translates  juegos 
de  escarnios  —  hufiooTx  plays;  Wolf  translates  "Spottspiele."  See  also  the 
note  in  Ticknor,  ibid.  Doubtless  rude  farces  with  their  accompaniment  of 
horse-play  are  meant. 

252 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  ARANDA  253 

shepherds  and  told  them  of  the  birth  of  Christ.  And 
likewise  of  his  appearance  and  how  the  three  Magi  came 
to  adore  him;  and  of  his  resurrection,  which  shows  how 
he  was  crucified  and  arose  on  the  third  day.  Such  things 
as  these,  which  move  men  to  do  good  and  to  have  devo- 
tion in  the  faith,  may  be  represented,  and,  besides,  so  that 
men  may  remember  that  just  as  here  the  things  have,  in 
truth,  happened.  But  these  things  must  be  done  with 
decorum  and  with  great  devotion,  and  in  the  large  cities, 
where  there  are  archbishops  and  bishops,  and  by  their 
authority  or  that  of  their  representatives,  and  they  must 
not  be  performed  in  villages  or  in  mean  places,  nor  fon 
tKe  purpose  of  gaining  money."  ^ 

Dramatic  representations  continued  to  flourish  in  the 
churches,  but,  through  the  laxity  of  the  clergy,  the  abuses 
increased  to  such  an  extent  that  the  council  of  Aranda,  in 
1473,  enacted  a  decree,  similar  to  the  law  just  mentioned, 
to  regulate  these  performances,  and  strongly  condemning 
"the  ^uses  which  had  crept  into  the  festivals  of  the  birth 
of  Christ,  that  of  St.  Stephen,  St.  John,  the  feast  of  the 
Innocents,"  etc.,  and  forbidding  other  festivals  in  which 
theatrical  plays,  masks,  monsters,  shows,  and  many  de- 

^  "Los  clerigos  ...  no  deben  ser  f acedores  de  juegos  de  escarnios 
porque  los  vengan  &  ver  gentes,  como  se  facen.  £  si  otros  omes  los 
iicieren,  non  deben  los  clerigos  hi  venir,  porque  facen  hi  muchas  villanias 
e  desaposturas.  Ni  deben  otrosi  estas  cosas  facer  en  las  eglesias:  antes 
decimos  que  los  deben  echar  de  ellas  deshonradamente  a  los  que  lo 
ficieren:  ca  la  eglesia  de  Dios  es  fecha  para  orar  e  non  para  facer 
escarnios  «n  ella.  .  .  .  Pero  representacion  hay  que  pueden  los  clerigos 
facer,  asi  como  de  la  nacencia  de  nuestro  Senor  Jesucristo  en  que  muestra 
como  el  angel  vino  i  los  pastores,  e  como  les  dijo  como  era  Jesu  Cristo 
nacido.  E  otrosi  de  su  aparicion  como  los  tres  reyes  magos  le  vinieron  a 
adorar.  E  de  su  resurreccion  que  muestra  que  fue  crucificado  e  resucito 
al  tercero  dia:  tales  cosas  como  estas  que  mueven  al  ome  a  facer  bien 
e  d  haber  devocion  en  la  fe,  pueden  las  facer,  e  demas,  porque  los  omes 
hayan  remembranza  que  segun  aquellas  fueron  las  otras  fechas  de  verdad. 
Mas  esto  deben  facer  apuestamente  e  con  muy  grand  devocion  e  en  las 
cibdades  grandes  donde  oviere  arzobispos  6  obispos,  e  con  su  mandado 
de  ellos  6  de  los  otros  que  tovieren  sus  veces,  e  non  lo  deben  facer  en  las 
aldeas,  nin  en  los  lugares  viles,  nin  por  ganar  dinero  con  ellas."  {Partida 
I,  tit.  vi,  leg.  34.) 


254  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

vices  and  lewd  figures  are  brought  Into  the  churches,  thus 
creating  a  tumult;  besides,  it  forbade  "all  derisive 
speeches  or  the  recitation  of  lewd  verses,  which  interfere 
with  the  divine  offices  and  make  the  people  unmindful  of 
their  devotions,"  etc.  However,  decorous  and  devout 
representations  which  move  people  to  devotion  are  not 
prohibited.^ 

Those  persons  who,  outside  the  church,  made  a  living 
by  playing  in  the  public  squares— the  singers  and  players 
of  instruments  {juglares)  and  mimic  players  {remeda- 
dores) — had  been  declared  infamous  by  the  Partidas  qi 
Alfonso  X.,2  and  the  church  declared  them  without  civil- — 
rights,  a  stigma  under  which  all  public  players  rested  In 
France  until   1642,^  while  their  ecclesiastical  rehabilita- 

^  "Quia  quaedam  tarn  in  metropolitanis  quam  in  cathedralibus  et  aliis 
ecclesiis  nostrae  provinciae  consuetudo  inolevit  et  videlicet  in  festis  Nativi- 
tatis  Domini  nostri  Jesu  Christi,  et  sanctorum  Stephani,  loannis  et  Inno- 
centium  aliisque  certis  diebus  festivis,  etiam  in  solemnitatibus  missarum 
novarum  (dum  divina  aguntur)  ludi  theatrales,  larvae,  monstra,  spcc- 
tacula,  nee  non  quam  plurima  inhonesta  et  diversa  figmenta  in  ecclesiis 
introducuntur,  tumultuationes  quoque  et  turpia  carmina  et  derisorii  ser- 
mones  dicuntur,  adeo  quod  divinum  officium  impediunt  et  populum  reddunt 
indevotum:  nos  banc  corruptelam  sacro  approbante  consilio,  revocantes 
hujusmodi  larvas,  ludos,  monstra,  spectacula,  figmenta,  tumultuationes 
fieri,  carmina  quoque  turpia  et  sermones  illicitos  dici,  tam  in  metropoli- 
tanis quam  cathedralibus  ceterisque  nostrae  provinciae  ecclesiis  dum 
divina  celebrantur  praesentium  serie  omnino  prohibemus:  statuentes 
nihilominus,  ut  clerici,  qui  praemissa  ludibria  et  inhonesta  figmenta 
officiis  divinis  immiscuerint  aut  immisceri  permiserint,  se  in  praefatis 
metropolitanis  seu  cathedralibus  ecclesiis  beneficiati  exstiterint,  ex  ipso 
per  mensem  portitionibus  suis  mulctentur:  si  vero  in  parochialibus  fuerint 
beneficiati  triginta  et  si  non  fuerint  quindecim  regalium  poenam  incurrant 
fabricis  ecclesiarum  et  tertio  synodali  aequaliter  applicandam.  Per  hoc 
tamen  honestas  representationes  et  devota  quae  populum  ad  devotionem 
movent,  tam  in  praefatis  diebus  quam  in  aliis  non  intendimus  prohibere." 
(Quoted  by  Schack,  Geschichte  der  dramatischen  Lit.  u.  Kunst  in  Spanien, 
Vol.  I,  p.  136.) 

'  "Otrosi  [son  infamados]  los  que  son  juglares  e  los  remedadores  e  los 
facedores  de  los  zaharrones  que  publicamente  andan  por  el  pueblo  6  can- 
tan  6  facen  juegos  por  precio,  esto  es  porque  se  envilecen  ante  otros  por 
aquel  precio  que  les  dan.  Mas  los  que  taneren  estrumentos  6  cantasen  por 
facer  solaz  d  si  mesmos,  6  por  facer  placer  a  sus  amigos  6  dar  solaz  a  los 
reyes  6  a  los  otros  senores,  non  serian  por  ende  enfamados."  (Partida  VII, 
tit.  vi,  leg.  4.) 

*"Die    Kirche    erklart    ihn    (den    Jongleur)    fiir    infam,    fur    ehr-    und 


THE  ACTOR'S  PROFESSION  255 

tion  was  only  effected  by  the  great  Revolution,  and  in 
Spainjto  this  day  an  actor  who  dies  in  his  profession  can- 
not be  buried'iTi  soil  consecrated  by  the  church. 

Speaking  of  the  actor's  profession  in  England,  Collier 
says:  "It  was  a  profession  in  bad  repute  before  Elizabeth 
came  to  the  throne,  and  long  afterward;  and  poverty, 
peculiar  circumstances  of  position,  or  a  strong  passion  for 
theatrical  performances,  could  alone  have  induced  an  in- 
dividual to  attach  himself  to  it."^  In  1572  a  statute  was 
enacted  in  England  declaring  that  common  players  in  in- 
terludes, etc.,  not  belonging  to  a  baron  or  higher  per- 
sonage, or  not  having  a  license  from  two  justices  of 
the  peace,  should  be  dealt  with  as  rogues  and  vaga- 
bonds.^ 

The  church,  as  Cotarelo  says,  "put  an  end  to  pagan 
spectacles;  but  the  church  itself,  in  the  obscurity  of  the 
MlHHIe  Ages,  gave  origin  and  birth  to  the  modern  drama. 
At  first  forming  part  of  the  liturgy,  in  alternating  chants, 
dialogues,  and  choruses,  with  some  sort  of  scenic  appara- 
tus; then  amplifying  and  complicating  these  true  repre- 
sentations with  events  in  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  his 
saints,  or  of  the  heroes  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  after- 
ward by  permitting,  within  or  without  the  churches,  these 
embryonic  dramas  to  be  enacted  in  the  vulgar  tongue, 
with  great  apparatus,  and  with  music,  songs,  and  other 
popular  pastimes,  the  church  greatly  facilitated  their 
growth.    And  when,  on  account  of  the  abuses  which  this 

rechtlos,  und  unter  dem  Einflusse  des  kanonischen  Rechts  spricht  ihm  auch 
das  burgerliche  Gesetz  die  Handlungsfahigkeit  ab.  Diese  Infamierung 
hat  in  Frankreich  die  Jahrhunderte  ijberdauert:  jene  Schauspieler,  welche 
in  1637  Corneilles  Cid  kreirten,  waren  noch  biirgerlich  und  kirchlich 
ehrlos.  Erst  1642  hob  eine  konigliche  Verfiigung  die  biirgerliche  Infa- 
mierung auf.  Die  kirchliche  Rehabilitierung  hat  dem  franzosischen 
Schauspieler  erst  die  grosze  Revolution  gebracht.  Erst  sie  hat  diesem 
tausendjahrigen  Zweikampf  zwischen  Kirche  und  Spielmann  ein  Ende 
gemacht."     (Morf,  Aus  Dichtung  u.  Sprache  der  Romanen,  p.  153.) 

^Memoirs  of  the  Principal  Actors  in  the  Plays  of  Shakespear,  London, 
Shakspeare  Soc,  1846,  p.  3. 

*Fleay,  A  Chronicle  History  of  the  London  Stage,  London,  1890,  p.  44. 


256  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

tolerance  necessarily  produced,  it  closed  its  doors  to  every 
profane  element,  we  see  the  modern  theater  created."^ 

While  the  church,  "ever  vigilant  for  the  decorum  of  its 
ceremonies,"  as  the  same  writer  says,  "tried  to  extirpate 
every  kind  of  excess  and  evil  practice,"  we  know  that  its 
success  was  only  partial.  Moreover,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  century  this  vigilance  of  the  church,  at  its 
fountain-head  at  all  events,  had  very  much  relaxed,  so  far 
as  dramatic  representations  are  concerned.  Alexander 
VI.  and  his  court  were  certainly  not  inclined  to  guard  the 
stage  or  protect  it  from  abuse  because  of  any  moral  or 
religious  scruples  they  may  have  had.  It  is  ques- 
tionable, indeed,  whether  the  stage  had  ever  sunk  to  a 
lower  depth  than  it  did  under  their  august  patronage.^ 

Nevertheless,  the  actor  remained  under  the  ban  of  the 
church,  and  this  lasted  in  some  countries,  as  we  have  seen, 
until  late  in  the  eighteenth  century:  the  great  Moliere  was 
denied  the  rights  of  sepulture  by  the  Catholic  Church,  and 
was  buried  at  night,  like  a  criminal^^  " 

^  Controversias,  etc.,  p.  9. 

'At  the  court  of  Alexander  VI.,  besides  the  commedie,  other  spectacles 
were  prepared  for  the  delectation  of  these  noble  personages,  as  "lo 
spettacolo  de'  cavalli  e  cavalle  in  amore,  goduto  dal  Papa  e  da  Madonna 
Lucrezia  cum  magnu  risu  et  delectatione,  da  una  finestra  del  palagio" 
(D'Ancona,  Origini  del  Teatro  Italiano,  Vol.  II,  p.  71,  note),  and  the 
"ballo  delle  meretrici,"  etc.  And  we  mention  only  in  passing  the  comedy 
La  Calandra,  by  Cardinal  Bibbiena — performed  before  sua  santa  at  Rome 
in  1514 — in  order  to  record  a  matter  which  concerns  us  much  more  nearly. 
Cardinals  and  pontifical  secretaries  were  not  ashamed  to  travel  in  the 
company  of  prostitutes  and  to  entertain  them  at  their  tables.  On  the 
evening  of  August  10,  1513,  the  Marquis  Federico  Gonzaga,  being  only 
twelve  years  old,  supped  at  the  house  of  the  Cardinal  of  Mantua,  his 
uncle,  with  the  Cardinal  d'Aragona^  Cardinal  Sauli,  Cardinal  Cornaro, 
several  bishops  and  noblemen,  and  the  courtesan  Albina ;  on  the  preceding 
Thursday  he  had  been  at  the  house  of  the  Cardinal  of  Arborea,  where 
there  was  recited,  in  Spanish,  a  comedia  of  Juan  de  la  Enzina,  and  where 
were  gathered  together  piu  putane  spagnole  che  omini  italiani.  (Graf, 
Attraverso  il  Cinquecento,  Roma,  1888,  p.  265.  See  also  D'Ancona, 
Origini,  Vol.  II,  p.  82.)  The  play  by  Enzina  was  probably  Placida  y 
Victoriano,  which,  according  to  Moratin,  was  printed  in  Rome  in  15 14. 
It  is  evident  that  the  "vigilance,"  at  this  time,  must  have  originated  else- 
where than  at  Rome. 


THE  BAN  ON  ACTORS  257 

In  Spain,  as  late  as  r7.89»  two  members  of  the  theatri- 
cal profession,  Cristobal  Garrigo  and  Antonia  Lopez 
Antolin,  were  refused  the  "sacrament  of  marriage"  by  the 
church,  because  they  were  actors,  "their  profession  of 
acting  making  them  unworthy  of  the  sacraments,  they 
being  ipso  facto  infamous  and  public  sinners"  ;^  and  in  the 
following  year  communion  {la  comunion  pascal)  was  re- 
fused to  the  actor  {primer  galan)  Antonio  Cabanas  and 
to  his  son.  In  Spain,  to  this  day,  as  already  remarked, 
an  actor  who  dies  in  his  profession  cannot  be  buried  in 
soil  consecrated  by  the  church,  because,  as  Sr.  Cotarelo 
says,  "ecclesiastical  sepulture  is  due  only  to  those  who  die 
in  the  communion  of  the  church,  and  because  the  rituals, 
not  excluding  the  Roman,  prohibit  it  to  public  sinners, 
I  which  actors  are."^ 

It^s  doubtful,  however,  whether,  except  in  rare  cases, 
the  sacraments  of  the  Catholic  Church  were  refused  to  a 
player.  In  1590  Fray  Manuel  Rodriguez,  in  his  Obras 
morales  en  Romance,  says:  "The  priests  are  obliged  to 
deny  communion  to  actors,  as  they  are  defined  in  the 
Council  of  Basle,  because  they  are  public  sinners.  And 
observe  that  we  do  not  speak  here  of  the  actors  of  farces 
and  comedias,  because  they  are  not  public  sinners,  but  we 
speak  of  such  players  who  publicly  teach  others  to  do  evil 
things,  such  as  those  who  do  publicly  things  that  pertain 
to  the  magic  arts,  tumblers,"  etc' 

This  is  substantially  repeated  by  Fr.  Alonso  de  Vega  in 

*  "El  cura,  entendiendo  que  eran  de  oficio  comico,  se  nego  a  conferirles 
el  Sacramento  del  matrimonio,  representando  al  senor  gobernador  del 
obispado  que  su  ejercicio  de  representantes  los  hacia  indignos  de  los  sacra- 
mentos,  siendo  por  el  infames  y  pecadores  publicos."  (Cotarelo  y  Mori, 
Controversias,  etc.,  p.  400.) 

^  "Los  comicos  que  mueren  en  el  oficio  no  pueden  ser  enterrados  en 
sagrado,  porque  la  sepultura  eclesiastica  solo  se  debe  a  los  que  mueren  en 
la  comunion  de  la  Iglesia,  y  porque  los  rituales,  sin  excluir  el  romano,  la 
prohiben  a  los  pecadores  publicos,  cuales  son  los  comicos.  Ni  vale  alegar 
la  costumbre  contraria,  porque  como  dice  Inocente  III.:  Consuetudo,  quae 
canonicis  oviat  instituis,  nullius  debet  esse  momenti."  {Controversias, 
etc.,  p.  405.)  ^  Ibid.,  p.  525. 


258  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

1609,  who  says:  "Priests  are  obliged  to  deny  communion 
to  actors  who  teach  others  publicly  to  do  evil  things,  etc. ; 
.  .  .  but  players  do  not  sin  in  practising  their  profession, 
for  it  is  not  unlawful  in  itself."^  Indeed,  in  1598,  D. 
Pedro  Vaca  de  Castro,  Archbishop  of  Granada  and  Se- 
ville, who  had  opposed  the  representation  of  comedias  as 
"a  fountain  of  great  evil,"  inquired  very  particularly  con- 
cerning players  as  to  whether  "they  fulfil  the  precepts  of 
the  church,  especially  those  of  confession  and  holy  com- 
munion."^ And  in  1614  it  was  the  opinion  of  Francisco 
Ortiz,  who  wrote  an  Apologia  en  defensa  de  las  Come- 
dias que  se  representan  en  Espana,  that  the  sacraments 
should  be  given  to  actors,  because  the  prohibitory  canons 
refer  only  to  the  Roman  mimes,  not  to  modern  autos.^ 

None  of  these  prohibitions  of  the  church  was  observed 
in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  so  far  as  we 
can  judge  by  such  records  of  the  marriages  and  deaths  of 
players  as  have  come  down  to  us.  In  1596,  for  example. 
Ana  Ortiz  requests  that  she  be  buried  in  the  parish  of 
Santa  Cruz,  in  the  tomb  of  her  husband,  Pedro  Paez  de 
Sotomayor  (an  autor  de  comedias),  "who  is  buried  near 
the  altar  of  San  Cosme  and  San  Damian."^  And  on  the 
death  of  Pedro  Llorente,  an  autor  de  comedias,  on  Janu- 
ary 30,  1 62 1,  we  read:  "He  received  the  holy  sacraments 
at  the  hands  of  the  licentiate  Corralan,  and  requested  in 
his  will  that  twelve  masses  for  his  soul  (misas  de  alma) 
and  three  hundred  ordinary  ones  be  said."°  In  like  man- 
ner Cristobal  Ortiz  de  Villazan,  an  autor  de  comedias,  on 
his  death,  on  July  i,  1626,  received  the  holy  sacraments, 
and  Jeronima  de  Burgos,  who  died  on  March  27,  1641, 
and  whose  life  had  been  far  from  exemplary,  received  the 
holy  sacraments  and  was  buried  by  the  Brotherhood  of 
Our  Lady  of  the  Novena.® 

*  Controversias,  etc.,  p.  584.  *  Ibid.,  p.  578.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  491. 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  44.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  360. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  327.     The  only  exception  that  I  have  found  is  the  following, 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  STAGE       259 

During  the  long  conflict  in  Spain  between  the  theater 
and  the  church,  besides  the  many  opponents  of  the  theater 
— who,  almost  without  exception,  flayed  the  actors  with- 
out mercy — there  were  also  a  few  clerical  defenders  of 
the  histrionic  art.  These  controversies  have  been  col- 
lected with  great  diligence  by  Sr.  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  in  the 
large  volume  from  which  we  have  frequently  quoted,  and 
while  many  are  mere  diatribes  against  the  comedia  and 
the  players,  not  infrequently,  as  it  seems,  by  men  who  had 
never  seen  a  comedia  performed — to  judge  by  the  general 
terms  in  which  their  arguments  are  framed — others  con- 
tain observations  which  are  not  without  interest  in  our 
present  purpose.  One  of  the  earliest  defenders  of  the 
stage  was  Diego  de  Cabranes,  in  his  Armadura  espiritual, 
the  privilege  of  which  is  dated  1525.  His  opinion  is  that 
fineries  {atavios)  for  the  representation  of  farces  for 
recreation  only  are  not  unlawful.  His  work  is  of  im- 
portance as  a  proof  of  the  early  date  at  which  farces  were 
acted  in  public. 

In  1559  Fray  Francisco  de  Alcocer,  in  his  Tratado  del 
Juego,  says:  "The  representation  of  farces  and  inven- 
tions is  another  kind  of  play  which,  when  they  are  stories 
from  the  sacred  scriptures  {sagrada  escritura)^  or  con- 
cerning other  devout  things,  and  are  performed  by  persons 
who  represent  them  with  the  grace  which  such  matters 
require,  is  a  good  and  honest  pastime  and  conducive  to 
devotion.  And  one  should  always  take  care  that  the  per- 
sons who  represent  the  plays  should  likewise  understand 
what  they  are  representing,  and  that  they  should  be  so 
skilful  in  what  they  do  and  should  know  so  well  what  they 

and  it  happens  to  be  the  case  of  a  famous  autor  de  comedias:  "29  Marzo 
1610.  Partida  de  defuncion  de  Nicolas  de  los  Rios. — En  Madrid,  en  veinte 
y  nueve  de  Marzo  de  1610  anos  murio  de  aplopegia  {sic)  en  la  calle  de 
las  guertas,  Nicolas  de  los  Rios,  autor  de  comedias,  casado  con  Ines  de 
Lara.  No  recibio  el  viatico  ni  texto,  enterrole  su  muxer  en  San  Sebastian 
en  orden  de  quarenta  reales."  (Archivo  parroquial  de  San  Sebastian. 
Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  118.) 


26o  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

say  that  the  people  present  be  edified  and  moved  to  devo- 
tion. This  is  often  lacking,  and  the  actors  are  sometimes 
so  vulgar  and  act  so  badly  that  it  rather  provokes  to 
laughter,  although  they  should  not  be  condemned  on  this 
account,  provided  their  intention  be  good.  Other  histor- 
ical farces  there  are,  and  also  those  invented  by  their 
authors,  which,  provided  there  be  nothing  unseemly  {des- 
honesto)  in  them  which  is  provocative  of  sin,  are  not  to 
be  condemned,  while  those  farces  which  are  lewd  and  im- 
moral should  not  be  represented."^  This,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, was  in  the  period  of  Lope  de  Rueda. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  opponents  of  the  comedia 
among  theological  writers  are  legion.  One  of  the  most 
important  as  well  as  one  of  the  earliest  is  Fr.  Juan 
de  Pineda,  the  editor  of  the  famous  Paso  honroso  def en- 
dido  por  Suero  de  Quihones.  His  Dialogos  de  la  Agri- 
cultura  were  written  in  1581,  just  prior  to  the  time  of 
Lope  de  Vega's  first  attempts  at  writing  for  the  public 
stage.  He  says :  "Turning  now  to  our  own  actors,  inciters 
to  evil  lives,  I  should  like  to  know  what  law  of  reason  can 
give  consent  to  them  or  what  king  should  permit  them, 
and  especially  those  foreigners  [the  Italians]  who  carry 
away  many  thousands  of  ducats  from  Spain  every  year." 
That  these  actors  employed  their  mother  tongue,  we  learn 
from  one  of  the  interlocutors  in  the  dialogue,  who  says 
that  he  went  several  times  to  the  comedia,  "especially  to 
that  of  the  Italians,  who  better  understood  the  expression 
of  the  emotions,"  and  that  he  took  his  wife  with  him,  "she 
being  a  person  of  almost  as  good  sense  as  I  am,  and  who 
even  understands  Italian."  "What  could  married  men 
say,  who  take  or  send  their  wives  and  daughters  to  such 
spectacles,  even  if  they  should  not  return  home  at 
night?"  2 

Pedro  de  Ribadeneira,  a  Jesuit  priest,  in  his  Tratado 

*  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  p.  55. 
'  Controversias,  p.  505. 


ARGENSOLA  ON  THE  COMEDIA       261 

de  la  Trihulacion  (1589),  is  most  bitter  in  his  denuncia- 
tion of  actresses.  "The  low  women  {miigercillas)  who 
ordinarily  act  are  beautiful,  lewd,  and  have  bartered  their 
virtue,  and  with  gestures  and  movements  of  the  whole 
body,  and  with  voices  bland  and  suave,  with  beautiful  cos- 
tumes, like  the  sirens  they  charm  and  transform  men  into 
beasts  and  lure  them  the  more  easily  to  destruction,  as 
they  themselves  are  more  wicked  and  lost  to  every  sense 
of  virtue."^ 

And  not  only  theologians  opposed  the  comedia,  but  no 
less  a  person  than  Luperclo  Leonardo  de  Argensola,  who 
had  himself  written  three  tragedies.  La  Isabela,  La  Alex- 
andra  (so  much  praised  by  Cervantes),  and  La  Fills, 
which  is  now  lost.  Why  Argensola  should  oppose  the 
comedia,  it  is  not  easy  to  say.  Perhaps  he  was  piqued  at 
the  failure  of  his  tragedies,  which  are  very  mediocre  and 
extremely  sanguinary  productions,  to  judge  by  the  two 
which  have  survived.  At  all  events,  Lupercio's  brother, 
Bartolome,  who  was  a  priest  as  well  as  poet,  never  ex- 
pressed any  opposition  to  the  stage  of  his  day.  In  1598 
Luperclo  addressed  a  memorial  to  Philip  IL  In  which  he 
vehemently  protested  against  the  comedia  as  then  acted, 
which  was  the  comedia  of  Lope  de  Vega.  Speaking  of 
actresses,  he  says :  "The  lure  which  the  devil  used  was 
their  singing,  dancing,  and  exquisite  costumes,  and  the 
various  personages  whom  they  represented  every  day, 
attiring  themselves  as  queens,  goddesses,  shepherdesses, 
and  as  men;  and  the  representation  of  the  most  pure 
Queen  of  the  Angels  has  been  profaned  by  them.  And  so 
true  is  this,  that  In  presenting  a  comedia  of  the  life  of  Our 
Lady  in  this  capital,  the  actor  who  played  the  part  of  St. 
Joseph  was  living  In  concubinage  with  the  woman  who 
represented  Our  Lady,  and  this  was  so  notorious  that 
many  were  scandalized  and  laughed  when  they  heard  the 
words  which  the  most  pure  Virgin  replied  to  the  angel's 

^Ibid.,  p.  523. 


262  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

question:  Quomodo  fiet  istud,  etc.  And  in  this  same 
comedia,  arriving  at  the  mystery  of  the  birth  of  Our  Sa- 
viour, this  same  actor  who  played  the  part  of  Joseph  re- 
proved the  woman  in  a  low  voice  because  she  was  looking, 
as  he  thought,  at  a  man  of  whom  he  was  jealous,  calling 
her  by  a  most  vile  name  which  is  wont  to  be  applied  to 
evil  women."  ^  Argensola  likewise  speaks  of  the  scandal 
of  these  actors  wearing  priestly  vestments  at  the  festival 
of  Corpus,  and,  "what  is  worse  than  all,  to  see  the  wounds 
of  Our  Saviour  painted  on  those  hands  which  a  short  time 
before  were  occupied  in  playing  cards  or  the  guitar." 

Fray  Jose  de  Jesus  Maria,  writing  in  1600,  says:  "The 
comedias  as  they  are  represented  nowadays  are  most  in- 
decent and  prejudicial  to  all  classes  of  people,  because 
they  nearly  all  treat  of  lascivious  things  or  dishonest  love- 
affairs."  ^  He  says  further:  "What  pleasure  or  what 
edification  can  it  give  to  the  spectator  to  see  (as  I  have 
seen  in  this  capital)  an  actor  embrace  and  kiss  publicly 
in  the  theater  the  very  wife  of  the  autor  de  comedias?"^ 
He  alludes  to  the  gross  impropriety  of  having  common 
players  perform  the  autos  of  Corpus  Christi,  saying:  "If 
there  be  anything  in  Spain  which  offends  strangers  and 

pious  natures  at  this  festival,  it  is  to  see  vile  men  {sucios) 

and  infamous,  accustomed  all  their  lives  to  representing 
obscene  and  hideous  things  {cosas  torpes  y  feas),  repre- 
senting mysteries  so  lofty  and  ineffable;  and  that  the 
woman  who  represents  the  lewdness  (torpezas)  of 
Venus,  as  well  in  comedias  as  in  her  private  life,  should 
represent  the  purity  of  the  Sovereign  Virgin  in  an  act  so 
divine  and  solemn."     (Ibid.) 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  among  the  opponents  of 
the  theater  was  the  historian  Padre  Juan  de  Mariana. 
He  had  denounced  it  as  early  as  1599  in  the  treatise  De 
Rege,  and  again  in  his  De  Spectaculis,  ten  years  later. 
In  his  work   Contra   los  Juegos  publicos,   a   translation 

'  Controversias,  p.  67.  *  Ibid.,  p.  370.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  377. 


MARIANA  ON  THE  THEATER  263 

which,  it  is  said,  he  himself  made  of  his  De  Spectaculis, 
with  amplifications,  he  opposes  the  theater  with  great  vehe- 
mence.^ He  would  particularly  exclude  all  players  from 
taking  part  in  religious  festivals  in  the  churches  or  in  the 
public  autos  at  Corpus,  and  expresses  his  horror  at  hav- 
ing heard  the  most  gross  and  indecent  entremeses  recited 
in  churches,  and  dwells  upon  the  great  prejudice  to  re- 
ligion and  morals  that  low-lived  players  should  represent 
the  lives  of  saints,  etc.  All  actors  should  be  banished 
from  public  and  church  festivals,  from  which  also,  in  his 
opinion,  all  dances  should  be  eliminated.^ 

Again,  in  the  Didlogos  de  las  Comedias  (1620),  by  an 
anonymous  writer,  we  read:  "An  actress  appears  upon 
the  stage  to  represent  a  Magdalen  or  the  Mother  of 
God,  and  an  actor  to  represent  the  Saviour,  and  the  first 
thing  you  see  is  that  the  greater  part  of  the  audience 
recognizes  this  woman  as  a  prostitute  {ramera)  and  the 
man  as  a  bully.    Could  there  be  a  greater  indecency  in  the 

^  It  is  not  certain  that  Mariana  himself  translated  the  De  Spectaculis 
into  Spanish.  Cirot,  in  his  excellent  work,  Mariana,  Historien,  Paris, 
1905,  nowhere  says  so.  Gallardo,  Ensayo,  Vol.  II,  Index  of  MSS.  at  the 
end,  p.  100,  mentions  the  "Tratado  De  Spectaculis,  traducido  en  castellano 
por  el  raismo  (Q.  41)."    See  below,  p.  294.    Mariana  died  in  1623. 

*"Pretendo  empero  que  los  faranduleros  se  deben  de  todo  punto 
desterrar  de  las  fiestas  del  pueblo  cristiano  y  de  los  teraplos.  .  .  .  Pues 
I  con  que  cara  los  cristianos  faranduleros  tomados  de  la  plaza  y  de 
los  mesones  los  meten  en  los  templos  para  que  por  ellos  se  augraente  la 
sagrada  alegria  de  las  fiestas?  .  .  .  Pero  diras  por  ventura  que  en  los 
templos  no  tratan  de  cosas  torpes,  sino  que  representan  historias  sagradas 
tomadas  6  de  los  libros  divinos,  6  de  las  historias  de  los  sanctos,  lo  cual 
pluguiese  a  Dios  fuese  verdad,  y  no  antes  para  mover  al  pueblo  a  risa 
tratasen  de  cosas  torpisimas.  Y  es  cosa  muy  grave  no  poder  negar  lo  que 
confesar  es  grande  vergvienza ;  sabemos  muchas  veces  en  los  templos 
sanctisimos,  principalmente  en  los  entremeses,  que  son  a  manera  de  coros, 
recitarse  adulterios,  amores  torpes  y  otras  deshonestidades,  de  manera 
que  cualquier  hombre  honesto  esta  obligado  a  huir  tales  espectaculos  y 
fiestas  si  quiere  mirar  por  el  decoro  de  su  persona  y  por  su  vergiienza ; 
y  I  creeremos  con  todo  esto  que  las  cosas  que  huyen  los  hombres  modestos 
son  agradables  a  los  sanctos?  Yo  antes  creeria  que  todos  estos  juegos  se 
debrian  desterrar  de  los  templos  sanctisimos  como  estiercol  y  buria  de  la 
religion,  principalmente  cuando  se  hacen  por  piiblicos  faranduleros,  porque 
siendo  su  vida  torpe,  parece  que  con  su  misma  afrenta  afean  antes  la 
religion  .  .  .  y  i  sufriremos   que  una   muger   deshonesta   represente   a   la 


264  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

world?  Having  finished  this  part,  the  same  actress  ap- 
pears in  an  entremes,  representing  an  innkeeper's  wife  or 
a  prostitute,  simply  by  putting  on  a  bonnet  or  tucking  up  a 
skirt,  and  then  comes  out  in  a  wicked  haile  and  dances 
and  sings  a  carrateria  which  they  call  'The  Clothes  Laun- 
dry,' in  which  all  the  unseemly  occurrences  in  a  laundry 
are  represented;  and  he  who  played  the  part  of  the  Sa- 
viour in  a  beard  takes  it  off  and  comes  out  and  sings  or 
dances  or  performs  the  baile  of  'There  goes  Molly* 
{Alia  va  Marica).  Does  this  not  show  the  greatest  in- 
decency and  mockery  of  our  faith ?"^  The  same  Didlogo 
tells  us  that  "actors  are  the  filth  and  scum  of  the  world 
{la  horrura  y  hez  del  mundo) ^  and  very  rarely  are  good 
peoplt  found  among  them";  that  "very  often  they  can 
neither  read  nor  write,  and  they  are  wicked  people  who 
have  an  aversion  to  work,"  etc.,  but  "by  dint  of  industry 
and  perseverance,  here  and  there  one  becomes  eminent, 
like  Cisneros,  Leoncillo,  Granados,  Morales,  Villegas, 
Rios,  and  others." 

The  shafts  of  Fray  Jeronimo  de  la  Cruz,  in  his  loh 
evangelico  stoyco  ilustrado  (1638),  are  directed  not  so 
much  at  the  players  as  at  the  comedias— at^heir^lotsand 
subject-matter.  "In  the  comedia  is  represented,  with  the 
brilliant  colors  which  the  devil  knows  how  to  give  to  idle 
thoughts  and  a  wanton  heart,  how  the  married  woman 
may  betray  her  husband:  it  [the  comedia]  facilitates  the 
deed  and  diminishes  fiiielity  with  the  example  It  sets  before 

virgen  Maria  6  Sancta  Catalina,  y  un  hombre  infame  se  vista  de  ias 
personas  de  san  Agustin  y  san  Antonio?  .  ,  .  creeria  yo  que  por  la  misma 
razon  se  deben  echar  dellos  [los  templos]  las  danzas,  que  conforme  k  la 
costumbre  de  Espana,  con  gran  ruido  y  estruendo,  moviendo  los  pies  y 
manos  al  son  del  tamboril  por  hombres  enmascarados  se  hacen;  porque 
I  de  que  otra  cosa  sirven  sino  de  perturbar  a  los  que  rezan  y  oran  y  a  los 
que  cantan  en  comun?"  Mariana,  Contra  los  Juegos  publicos,  chap,  vii, 
pp.  422,  423  {Bibl.  de  Autores  Espanoles,  Vol.  XXXI),  and  see  also 
chap,  xii  of  the  same  work,  which  is  devoted  wholly  to  the  bayle  y  cantar 
llamado  Zarabanda.  {Ibid.,  p.  433.)  The  latter  chapter,  Pellicer  says, 
was  added  in  the  Spanish  translation.  {Histrionismo,  Vol.  I,  p.  128,  note.) 
"^Ibid.,  p.  2 1 8. 


GENUS  IMPROBUM  265 

one  of  how  others  have  <|<jj>ne  so.    It  Incites  the  maiden  to 
tTioughts'wniclli  she  knows  not,  aTTd  to  desires  which  she 

\  does  not  understand.     It  furnishes  a  means  to  outwit  the 

\  severity  of  the  father  and  the  precaution  of  the  mother. 
It  teaches  her  to  receive  secret  letters,  to  reply  to  them, 
and  what  she  has  to  do  in  any  conjecture  to  attain  an  end: 
to  feign  in  public  and  to  lose  her  fears  in  secret;  to  make 

\  false  keys,  to  seek  hidden  doors  and  windows ;  not  to  fear 

j  the  darkness  of  the  night  nor  the  dangers  of  the  house. 

/  To  the  young  it  teaches  liberties,  boldness,  and  insolence; 

j  the  plausible   excuse,   the   bland   speech,   the   deceptive 

1  sigh,"  etc.^ 

Especially  was  the  opposition  most  bitter  to  the  repre- 
sentation of  religious  and  sacred  comedias  {comedias  a  lo 
divino)  and  to  the  autos  sacramentales,  when  performed 
by  the  actors  of  the  public  theaters,  for  here  the  charac- 
ters of  saints  and  of  the  Virgin  Mary  were  frequently 
assumed  by  players  whose  lives  were  notoriously  im- 
moral.^  In  addition  to  the  instances  already  given,  many 
more  could  be  cited  from  the  work  of  Sr.  Cotarelo,  but 
enough  has  been  adduced  to  show  the  nature  and  extent 
of  the  opposition  to  plays  of  this  character. 

Amid  the  great  mass  of  controversy  upon  the  question 

*  Ibid.,  p.  203. 

*  See  above,  the  excerpt  from  Mariana.  Nearly  two  hundred  years 
later,  in  1789,  Don  Simon  Lopez,  speaking  of  the  comedias  de  santos,  says: 
"What  matters  it  that  the  comedia  be  on  a  sacred  subject,  if  those  who 
represent  it  be  consummate  rogues?  What  matters  it  if  the  life  of  the 
saint,  which  is  the  theme  of  the  comedia,  be  good,  if  in  the  very  same 
narration  are  mingled  a  hundred  evil  things;  if  there  be  interjected 
sainetes,  tonadillas,  obscene  witticisms,  and  low  innuendos  to  please  the 
taste  of  the  audience  and  to  attract  them,  with  the  object  of  gaining  more 
money?  Because  the  rascally  actors  know  very  well  that  if  all  were 
devout  and  Christian  the  crowds  would  soon  be  lacking."  He  cites  as  an 
example  the  priest  Montalvan's  Santa  Maria  Egipciaca  (La  Gitana  de 
Alenfis).  This,  which  is  a  comedia  de  santos,  he  says  is  wholly  a  tissue 
of  lies,  perjuries,  blasphemies,  false  testimony,  jealousies,  suspicions,  gal- 
lantries, solicitations,  low  puns,  vile  allusions,  and  inciting  gestures.  "In 
it  are  depicted  murder,  robbery,  and  revenge.  In  it  at  every  step  the 
names  of  God,  Jesus,  and  Mary  are  profaned.  In  it  miracles,  prayers, 
sanctity,   and   penitence   are   ridiculed.      In   it   wickedness   and   effrontery 


266  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

of  the  lawfulness  of  the  comedia  which  has  been  collected 
by  Sr.  Cotarelo,  the  voices  of  the  defenders  of  the  theater 
make  but  a  feeble  outcry,  which  is  drowned  and  over- 
whelmed by  their  opponents.^  There  can  be  little  doubt 
that  the  latter  had  good  grounds  for  their  protests,  due 
not  so  much  to  the  plays  themselves  as  to  the  character 
of  the  players,  for  the  Spanish  comedia,  especially  as  it  is 
represented  by  three  of  its  greatest  writers,  Lope  de 
Vega,  Alarcon,  and  Calderon,  compares  very  favorably, 
as  regards  its  moral  tone,  with  the  contemporary  plays 
of  England,  Italy,  or  France, ^  as  we  have  already  re- 
marked. 

Indeed,  it  is  almost  certain  that  the  strong  feeling 
against  the  comedia,  which  found  its  expression  in  the 
utterances  of  the  theologians  and  the  various  decrees  of 
the  government  concerning  the  regulation  of  the  stage, 
was  mostly  due_  to  the  excesses  of  the  players  themselves. 
As  a  body  they  seem  to  have  been  anything  but  respecta- 

are  lauded,  and  procurers  and  go-betweens  are  introduced.  In  it  a  public 
woman  is  deified,  giving  her  the  divine  name  of  Mary.  And  even  more: 
in  it  an  actor  who  a  short  time  before  took  the  part  of  a  gay  gallant  is 
seen  transformed  into  a  hermit  in  a  religious  habit,  imitating  all  the  most 
sacred  ceremonies,"  etc.  All  this,  he  says,  was  seen  in  the  public  theater 
of  Murcia  on  August  i6,  1789,  performed  on  a  Sunday  by  the  company  of 
Francisco  Baus.     (Cotarelo,  Contro'versias,  p.  410.) 

'Among  the  later  defenders  of  the  stage  was  the  well-known  dramatist 
Francisco  Bances  Candamo,  in  an  inedited  work  formerly  in  the  possession 
of  Don  Pascual  de  Gayangos,  entitled  Teatro  de  los  Teatros  de  los 
pasados  y  presentes  Sighs:  Historia  escenica  griega,  romana  y  castellana. 
Sr.  Gayangos  gives  a  long  excerpt  from  this  work  in  his  Spanish  transla- 
tion of  Ticknor's  History.    Tomo  III,  pp.  454  ff. 

'  Even  taking  the  Spanish  dramatists  of  a  lesser  order — among  whose 
works  occasionally  we  find  plays  unsurpassed  by  the  best — it  may  be  said 
that  there  is  little,  on  the  whole,  which  calls  for  our  censure,  when  com- 
pared with  the  rest  of  the  drama  of  the  time.  Nowhere,  for  example,  so 
far  as  my  reading  goes,  do  we  meet  with  the  brutality  and  utter  lack  of 
a  sense  of  decency  that  is  only  too  often  exhibited  in  the  Elizabethan 
drama.  Its  relatively  high  moral  plane  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  distinguish- 
ing marks  of  the  Spanish  national  drama.  Only  one  ofltender  need  be 
named  here,  and  he,  unfortunately,  one  of  the  greatest  dramatists  of  them 
all,  and  a  priest,  besides,  like  many  of  his  fellow-playwrights:  Tirso  de 
Molina.  He  seems  to  have  been  constitutionally  incapacitated  from  allow- 
ing a  play  to  leave  his  hands  without  a  slight  smudge,  at  all  events.    In 


ARIAS,  FAMOUS  ACTOR  267 

ble,  being  mostly  from  the  lower  walks  of  life,  though 
there  were  not  a  few  exceptions,  as  we  hav^e  seen.  In  the 
vast  army  of  players  which  Spain  produced  in  little  more 
than  half  a  century — nearly  two  thousand  names  are 
known  to  us — many  became  famous.  A  number  are 
highly  praised  by  Lope  de  Vega,  among  them  Alonso  de 
Cisneros,  Agustin  Solano,  Melchor  de  Villalba,  Nicolas 
de  los  Rios,  Antonio  de  Villegas,  Luis  de  Vergara,  Balta- 
sar  Pinedo,  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano,  Sanchez  de  Var- 
gas, Alonso  de  Olmedo,  and  others.  D^amian  Arias  de 
Penafiel  was  universally  regarded  as  the  greatest  SpanisE] 
actor  of  his  time.  Of  him  Caramuel  says:  "Arias  pos- 
sesses a  clear,  pure  voice,  a  tenacious  memory,  and  viva- 
cious manner,  and  in  whatever  he  said  it  seemed  that 
the  Graces  were  revealed  in  every  movement  of  his 
tongue  and  Apollo  in  every  gesture.  The  most  famous 
orators  came  to  hear  him  in  order  to  acquire  perfection 
of  diction  and  gesture.  At  Madrid  one  day  Arias  came 
upon  the  stage  reading  a  letter;  for  a  long  time  he  held 
the  audience  in  suspense;  he  was  filled  with  emotion  at 
fvery  line,  and  finally,  aroused  with  fury,  he  tore  the  let- 
ter to  shreds  and  began  to  declaim  his  lines  with  great 
vehemence,  and  though  he  was  praised  by  all,  he  won 
greater  admiration  on  that  day  by  his  action  than  by  his 
speech."^ 

fact,  on  account  of  "the  evil  example  and  tendency  of  his  profane  come- 
dias,"  the  Junta  de  Reformacion,  in  1625,  urged  his  banishment  to  one  of 
the  most  remote  monasteries  of  his  order  and  that  he  be  excommunicated 
latae  sententiae,  "so  that  he  may  write  no  more  comedias  or  profane  verses." 
Acuerdo  de  la  Junta  de  Reformacion:  "Tratose  del  escandalo  que  causa 
un  fraile  mercenario  que  se  llama  Af"  Tellez  por  otro  nombre  Tirso,  con 
comedias  que  hace  profanas  y  de  malos  incentivos  y  exemplos  y  por  ser 
caso  notorio  se  acordo  que  se  consulte  a  Su  Magestad  mande  que  el  P^ 
confesor  diga  al  Nuncio  le  eche  de  aqui  a  uno  de  los  Monasteries  mas 
remotos  de  su  Religion  y  le  imponga  excomunion  latae  sententiae  para  que 
no  haga  comedias  ni  otro  ningun  genero  de  versos  profanos  y  que  esto  sea 
luego."     (Perez  Pastor,  Bull.  Hisp.  (1908),  p.  250.) 

^  "Arias  habet  vocem  claram  et  puram,  memoriam  firmam  et  actionem 
vivacem,  et  quidquid  ipse  diceret  in  singulis  linguae  motibus  Charites  et 
in   singulis   manuum   videbatur   habere   Apollines.     Ad    eum   audiendum 


268  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Of  comic  actors,  Cosme  Perez,  called  Juan  Rana^wsx^ 
without  a:~peer~1rnils  day.  Among  tHe  celebrated  ac- 
tresses who  were  decease^'m  1615,  Suarez  de  Figueroa^ 
mentions  Ana  de  Velasco,  Mariana  Paez,  Mariana  Ortiz, 
Mariana  Vaca,  and  Jeronima  de  Salzedo.  Of  those  living 
at  that  date  he  mentions  Juana  de  Villalba,  Mariflores, 
Michaela  de  Luxan  [the  amiga  of  Lope  de  Vega],  Ana 
Mufioz,  Jusepa  Vaca,  Jeronima  de  Burgos,  Polonia  Perez, 
Maria  de  los  Angeles,  and  Maria  de  Morales.  Of  these  ac- 
tresses perhaps  the  widest  celebrity  was  gained  by  Jusepa 
Vaca,  wife  of  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano.  She  was  much 
favored  by  Lope  de  Vega,  who  wrote  for  her — "la  ga- 
llarda  Jusepa  Vaca,"  as  he  calls  her — the  comedia  Las 
Almenas  de  Toro.  Michaela  de  Luxan  was  the  mother 
of  four  of  Lope's  children:  Mariana  and  Angelilla,  of 
whom  we  know  nothing,  Marcela,  who  became  a  nun, 
and  the  son  Lope  Felix. ^  Jeronima  de  Burgos,  wife  of 
the  actor  Pedro  de  Valdes,  also  enjoyed  the  friendship  of 
the  great  dramatist  for  years,  and  for  her  he  wrote  the 
comedia  La  Dama  boha  in  1613,  though  when  he  fell  out 
with  her  he  was  unkind  enough  to  accuse  her  of  having 
once  sold  hot  rolls  in  Valladolid.  Of  Maria  de  los  Ange- 
les, wife  of  Jeronimo  Sanchez,  actor.  Lope,  in  a  letter 
/written  in  May,  1614,  in  a  fit  of  ill  will,  says  that  she  was 
brought  up  in  the  Rastro  of  Toledo,  among  the  tripe- 
venders  {mondongueras) .  Several  other  actresses  ac- 
quired great  renown  at  a  somewhat  later  date,  among 
them  Maria  de  Cordoba  y  de  la  Vega  (Amarilis),^  Ma- 

confluebant  excellentissimi  concionatores,  ut  dictionis  et  actionis  perfec- 
tionem  addiscerent.  Matriti  seme!  Arias  sibi  legens  epistulam  in  the- 
atrum  ingressus,  longo  tempore  habuit  Auditores  suspenses,  ad  sin- 
gulas  lineas  percellebatur,  et  demum  furore  percitus  laceravit  epistulam 
et  incepit  exclamare  vehementissima  carmina.  Et  tametsi  laudaretur  ab 
omnibus,  majorem  ilia  die  agendo  quam  loquendo  admirationem  extorsit." 
{Rhythmica,  editio  altera,  Campaniae,  1668,  p.  706,  quoted  by  Schack, 
Nachtrdgr,  p.  64.) 

^  Plaza  Universal,  ed.  of  1630,  p.  336. 

'  See  my  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  passim. 

'  Caramuel  says  of  her:  "Sub  idem  tempus  [1624J  Amaryllis   (sic  earn 


COLLUVIES  FITIORUM  269 

ria  Calderan  {La  C alder onaj^the  favorite  of  Philip  the 
Fourth,  and  mother  of  his  son,  Don  John  of  Austria,  and 
Maria  de  Riquelme,  who  shines  with  especial  splendor  in 
this  fragile  company,  as  a  woman  of  unblemished  reputa- 
tion and  an  actress  of  singular  gifts  and  attainments.^  "She 
possessed  great  beauty  and  was  of  so  lively  an  imagina- 
tion that,  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  she  could  entirely 
change  the  color  of  her  countenance  while  speaking.  At 
the  narration  of  some  happy  incident  her  face  was  suf- 
fused with  a  rosy  tint,  but  if  an  unfortunate  circum- 
stance intervened,  she  suddenly  became  deathly  pale ;  and 
in  this  she  was  alone  and  inimitable."  ^ 

These  and  some  others  "enjoyed,  no  doubt,"  as  Tick- 
nor  says,  "that  ephemeral,  but  brilliant,  reputation  which 
is  generally  the  best  reward  of  the  best  of  their  class; 
and  enjoyed  it  to  as  high  a  degree,  perhaps,  as  any  per- 
sons that  have  appeared  on  the  stage  in  more  modern 
times."3 

While  it  is  true  that  the  comedia  was  endangered  by 
the  loose  and  vicious  lives  of  the  players,  the  temptations 
to  which  the  latter  were  subjected  were,  on  the  other 
hand,  so  great  that  their  conduct  need  cause  us  little  sur- 
prise. This  is  especially  true  after  the  accession  to  the 
throne  of  Philip  the  Fourth.  The  court  of  that  monarch 
was,  without  doubt,  one  of  the  most  dissolute  in  Europe. 
From  his  early  years  he  had  shown  an  extreme  fondness 

▼ocabant)   inter  Comicas  floruit,  quae  erat  prodigiosa  in  sua  arte.     Elo- 
quebatur,  canebat,  musicis  instrumentis  ludebat,  tripudiabat,  et  nihil  erat, 
quod  cum  laude  et  applausu  non  faceret."     (Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  64.) 
^  See  above,  pp.  163,  164. 

*  "Paucis  post  annis  theatra  adsurgebat  Riquelmae,  adolescenti  pulchrae, 
apprehensiva  tam  forti  praeditae,  ut  inter  loquendum  vultus  colorem  cum 
omnium  admiratione  mutaret:  nam,  si  in  theatro  fausta  et  felicia  narra- 
rentur,  roseo  colore  suffusa  auscultabat ;  si  autem  aliqua  inf austa  circum- 
stantia  intercurreret,  illico  pallida  reddebatur.  Et  in  hoc  erat  unica, 
quam  nemo  valeret  imitari."  (Caramuel,  quoted  by  Schack.)  A  contem- 
porary Italian  actress,  Virginia  Andreini  (1583-1628),  is  also  said  to  have 
possessed  this  power  of  changing  the  color  of  her  face  at  will.  (Rasi, 
/  Comici  Italiani,  Vol.  I,  p.  147.) 

*  History  of  Spanish  Literature,  Vol.  II,  p.  519. 


270  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

for  the  stage  and  especially  for  actresses.^  Few  could 
withstand  the  all-powerful  influences  of  this  royal  rake, 
and  his  idle  and  dissolute  courtiers  eagerly  followed  the 
example  set  by  their  master.  Only  a  woman  of  extraor- 
dinary strength  of  character  could  avoid  falling  a  vic- 
tim to  this  horde  of  inveterate  debauches.  They  wran- 
gled and  fought  for  the  favors  of  the  frail  comediantes. 
We  need  not  be  surprised  at  the  words  of  Madame 
d'Aulnoy,  who,  writing  some  years  later  than  the  period 
which  chiefly  occupies  us  (but  in  which,  in  all  probability, 
matters  had  little  changed),  says:  "One  can  say  that  ac- 
tresses are  worshiped  at  this  court.  There  is  not  one  who 
is  not  the  mistress  of  some  great  lord  and  for  whom  quar- 
rels have  not  taken  place  and  men  have  not  been  killed. 
I  do  not  know  what  may  be  the  attraction  of  their  speech, 
but  in  truth  they  are  the  ugliest  carcasses  in  the  world. 
They  are  frightfully  extravagant,  and  one  would  rather 
let  a  whole  family  perish  of  hunger  than  permit  one  of 
these  beggarly  comediennes  to  lack  the  most  superfluous 
thing."  2 

^  Sepiilveda  has  truly  said:  "Don  Felipe  IV  fue  rey,  poeta  y  galan 
enamoradisimo,  un  tanto  calavera  al  uso  de  los  Lindos,  .  .  .  romantico  en 
sus  inciinaciones  y  novelesco  en  sus  aventuras.  A  no  haber  nacido  rey 
hubiera  sido  histrion."  {El  Corral  de  la  Pacheca,  p.  261.) 
^  ^Relation  du  Voyage  d'Espagne,  La  Haye,  1693,  Tome  III,  p.  23.  This 
statement  of  Madame  d'Aulnoy's  is  supported  by  the  testimony  of  an 
anonymous  writer  of  a  much  earlier  date  (1620),  who  says:  "...  pues 
sin  ser  muy  viejo  he  visto  tantos  caballeros  y  senores  perdidos  por  estas 
mugercillas  comediantes:  uno  que  se  va  con  una;  otro  que  lleva  a  otra  i 
sus  lugares;  uno  que  les  da  las  galas  y  trata  como  a  reina ;  otro  que  la 
pone  casa  y  estrado  y  gasta  con  ella,  aunque  lo  quite  de  su  muger  e  hijos, 
y  el  ande  tratandose  infamemente ;  otro  que  con  publicidad  celebro  en  igle- 
sia  publica  el  baptizo  de  un  hijo  de  una  destas  farsantas,  colgando  la  iglesia 
y  haciendo  un  excesivo  gasto  con  musica  de  capilla  y  con  convite.  No  hay 
compafiia  destas  que  Ileve  consigo  cebados  de  la  desenvoltura  muchos  destos 
grandes  peces  6  cuervos  que  se  van  tras  la  came  muerta.  Sabemos  por 
nuestros  pecados  todos  tanto  destos  infortunios  que  es  una  de  las  mayores 
infamias  de  nuestra  nacion.  Oimos  decir  que  el  otro  senor  salio  desterrado 
por  la  otra  Amarilis;  otro  por  la  otra  Maritardia  6  Maricandado,  que 
le  dieron  un  faldellin  que  costo  mil  ducados,  un  vestido  que  costo  dos  mil, 
una  joya  de  diamantes  rica ;  y  todo  esto  se  escribe  y  gacetea  en  otros  reinos 
y  se  pierda  mucha  honra,  y  aun  se  desacredita  la  cristiandad."     (Cota- 


IN  ARDUIS  VIRTUS  271 

The  utter  lack  of  privacy  in  the  dressing-rooms  of  the 
theaters,  which  were  used  indiscriminately  by  both  sexes, 
could  not  fail  to  have  a  most  demoralizing  influence. 
Here  the  actresses  received  the  visits  of  nobles  and  other 
idle  and  dissolute  hangers-on,  for  whom  the  rear  entrance 
of  a  theater  has  ever  had  a  powerful  attraction.^  The 
fact  that  they  consorted  with  nobles  and  grandees  and 
received  their  protection  inspired  in  these  actresses  an 
insolence  and  effrontery  that  sorely  tried  the  respectable 
portion  of  the  community.  An  honest  woman  ventured 
with  diffidence  upon  the  public  streets,  especially  upon 
those  which  had  become  the  recognized  walks  of  these 
favored  creatures.^  Their  unseemly  conduct  contributed 
in  no  small  degree  to  the  general  demoralization  which  a 
love  of  idleness,  a  contempt  for  honest  labor,  and  an  in- 
ordinate desire  for  ostentatious  extravagance  were  rapidly 
spreading  through  all  classes  of  the  capital.  The  Avisos 
or  news-letters  of  various  writers  of  this  period  show 
only  too  plainly  the  havoc  which  idleness  and  immorality 
had  made  in  all  ranks  of  society. 

relo,  Controversias,  p.  215.)  This  statement  has  an  additional  interest 
from  the  fact  that  the  actresses  here  mentioned,  Amarilis  (Maria  de 
Cordoba  y  la  Vega),  Maritardia  (or  Maria  Tardia,  wife  of  Cebrian 
Dorainguez),  and  Maricandado  (Maria  Candau,  wife  of  Cristobal  de 
Avendano),  were  at  this  time  at  the  height  of  their  theatrical  careers. 

^The  same  conditions  prevailed  in  France  as  late  as  1639.  "En  1639 
encore,  les  comediens,  hommes  et  femmes,  n'avaient  pour  s'habiller  et  se 
deshabiller  au  theatre  qu'une  seule  chambre:  encore  y  fallait-il  recevoir 
les  importuns,  qu'il  eut  etc  imprudent  d'econduire."     (Rigal,  /.  c,  p.  167.) 

^  Their  favorite  resort  in  Madrid  was  the  Mentidero  de  los  Repre- 
sentantes,  or  Liars'  Walk  of  the  Players — a  small  square  with  trees, 
situated  in  the  Calle  del  Leon,  between  the  Calle  de  las  Huertas  and  the 
Calle  del  Prado,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  which  most  of  the 
actors  and  actresses  lived,  and  which  they  visited  daily  to  discuss  their 
engagements  and  other  matters  of  interest  to  the  theatrical  world.  "For- 
merly the  Calle  del  Leon,  beginning  at  the  Calle  del  Prado  and  continuing 
to  the  Calle  de  Francos  and  Calle  de  Cantarranas,  was  somewhat  wider 
than  at  present  and  formed  a  small  square  surrounded  by  trees,  called  the 
Mentidero  de  los  Representantes."  (Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  63.)  It  was 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  house,  situated  in  the  Calle  de  Francos,  be- 
tween the  Calle  del  Leon  and  the  Calle  del  Nino,  which  Lope  de  Vega 
occupied  for  a  quarter  of  a  century   (1610-35)    and  in  which   he   died. 


272  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

But  while  players  were  frequently  on  terms  of  Intimacy 
with  the  nobility,  they  were  nevertheless  often  treated  in 
a  manner  which  showed  that  the  grandee  had  by  no  means 
lost  the  lofty  conception  he  had  always  entertained  of 
himself  as  the  representative  of  the  absoluteness  of  divine 
right.  An  instance  occurred  on  February  8,  1637.  Don 
Juan  Pacheco,  eldest  son  of  the  Marquis  of  Cerralbo, 
wanted  Tomas  Fernandez,  a  well-known  autor  de  come- 
dias,  to  give  a  new  comedia  on  the  day  of  San  Bias,  to 
celebrate  the  recovery  from  a  quartan  fever  of  a  daughter 
of  the  Marquis  of  Cadreita,  whom  Don  Juan  at  that  time 
was  courting  {galanteaba) .  As  Fernandez  refused  to  do 
this,  the  nobleman  hired  an  assassin  to  stab  him,  and  while 
this  stabbing  was  going  on,  we  are  told  that  Don  Juan 
was  walking  up  and  down  in  the  cemetery  of  San  Sebas- 
tian, awaiting  the  outcome.  "That  is  the  way  these  ras- 
cals (picaros)  ought  to  be  treated,"  he  remarked,  an 
action,  as  the  chronicler  quietly  observes,  "which  ap- 
peared wrong  to  nearly  all,  because,  besides  the  fact  that 
there  were  few  people  in  the  theaters  on  that  day,  the 

Lope's  house  was  in  the  very  heart  of  the  players'  quarter  and  may  be 
seen  on  the  map  of  1656.  It  is  not  without  interest  to  note  that  on  July  13, 
1674,  the  celebrated  actress  Mariana  Romero,  bought  from  Luis  de  Usa- 
tegui,  son-in-law  of  Lope  de  Vega,  the  house  in  the  Calle  de  Francos  in 
which  Lope  died  in  1635.  On  a  plan  of  Madrid  published  in  1800,  the 
street  is  still  called  the  Calle  de  Francos,  though  its  name  has  since  been 
changed  to  the  Calle  de  Cervantes.  It  seems  that  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century  the  Mentidero  was  shifted  to  the  Calle  de  Cantarranas. 

"Calle  de  Cantarranas 
y  Mentidero 
para  los  Comediantes 
todo  es  lo  mismo." 
{Loa  para  la  compafiia  de  Felix  Pascual,  in  Migaxas 
del  Ingenio,  Zaragosa  (no  date),  fol.  33,  v.) 

There  was  another  Mentidero  in  Madrid,  "Las  Gradas  de  San  Felipe, 
Conuento  de  San  Agustin,  que  es  el  mentidero  de  los  soldados,  de  adonde 
salen  las  nueuas  primero  que  los  sucessos."  (Guevara,  Diablo  Cojuelo, 
Tranco  III.  See  also  Mesonero  Romanes,  El  Antiguo  Madrid,  1881, 
Vol.  I,  p.  261,  and  Vol.  II,  p.  44;  and  Sepulveda,  Madrid  vie  jo,  Madrid, 
1887,  PP-  I  and  335.)  Clemencin  says:  "En  tiempos  antiguos  la  Puerta  de 
Guadalajara   era,  como   ahora   la   del   Sol,   el   sitio   adonde  concurria    la 


AVISOS  AND  ANALES  273 

lessees  were  interested  in  them  [the  actors]  as  well  as  the 
General  Hospital."^ 

Nowhere  else  can  the  reader  gain  a  more  vivid  concep- 
tion of  life  in  the  Spanish  capital  during  the  golden  age  of 
tHe  drama  than  in  these  Avisos  and  Anales,  the  forerun- 
ners of  the  modern  newspaper.  They  reveal  an  extraor- 
dinary condition  of  moral  obliquity  among  all  classes, 
but  especially  among  the  nobility,  headed  by  the  weak, 
profligate,  and  very  pious  King — El  Catolico  Monarca, 
Felipe  IV.,  as  he  was  called,  and  one  of  whose  proudest 
titles  was  "Defender  of  the  Faith."  It  would  have  been 
a  miracle  indeed  if  the  stage  had  been  able  to  resist  this 
general  contamination. ^ 

gente  ociosa,  y  el  mentidero  de  Madrid.  Despues  se  traslad6  i.  las  gradas 
de  San  Felipe."  {Don  Quixote,  ed.  Clemencin,  Part  II,  chap,  xlviii,  Vol.  V, 
p.  465.) 

^ La  Corte  y  Monarqu'ta  de  Espaha  en  los  Anos  1636  y  16^7,  edited  by 
Ant.  Rodriguez  Villa,  Madrid,  1886,  p.  90. 

'The  license  permitted  in  the  public  processions  during  carnival  seems 
almost  incredible.  See  ibid.,  pp.  107-110.  On  this  occasion,  as  usual,  the 
festival  concluded  with  a  famosa  comedia  which  was  represented  in  the 
salon  of  the  King.  "And  these  fiestas  ordinarily  not  being  free  from 
unfortunate  incidents  which  happen  on  such  occasions,  so  in  this  one  there 
was  much  rowdyism;  many  were  beaten  and  wounded,  and  a  soldier  of 
the  guard  was  stabbed."     {Ibid.,  p.  no.) 


CHAPTER  XIII 

The  term  comedia  defined.  The  various  kinds  of  comedias.  The 
licensing  of  comedias.  The  representation  of  a  comedia.  Loas, 
Entremeses,  Jdcaras,  Sainetes,  Mogigangas. 

The  term  comedia  as  used  by  Spanish  dramatists  is  not 
the  equivalent  of  our  word  "comedy."  "Since  the  time 
of  Lope  de  Vega^jgYery  play  in  three  acts  or  jornadas  and 
in  verse  is  called  a  comedia.  Both  these  requisites  were 
essential  to  a  comedia.  Of  the  conception  of  comedy  as 
we  have  received  it  from  the  ancients,  and  of  its  meaning 
as  opposed  to  tragedy,  we  must  free  ourselves  entirely. 
The  Spanish  comedia  is  a  species  which  embraces  these 
differences  and  in  which  they  are  resolved.  Here  both 
these  elements  mutually  interpenetrate  one  another  and 
are  transfused,  i.e.,  romantic  dramas  result,  which  are 
^neither  comedies  nor  tragedies,  but  combine  both;  or 
either  element  may  predominate,  in  which  case  pieces  are 
produced  which,  according  to  our  current  conception,  are 
sometimes  comedies,  sometimes  tragedies,  but  which 
nevertheless  do  not  cease  to  be  comedias  in  the  Spanish 
sense.  In  other  words,  the  comedia  may  have  either  a 
tragic  or  comic  effect,  but  it  is  not  confined  to  either."^ 

As  Morel-Fatio  has  clearly  and  briefly  defined  it:  "La 
comedia  designe  une  action  dramatique  quelconque,  sans 
egard  pour  les  effets  qu'elle  doit  produire  dans  Tame  du 

^  Geschichte  der  dramatischen  Literatur  und  Kunst  in  Spanien,  Vol.  II, 
p.  74.  Ricardo  de  Turia,  in  the  "Apologetico  de  las  Comedias  espanolas," 
says:  Ninguna  Comedia  de  quantas  se  representan  en  Espana  lo  es,  sino 
Tragicomedia,  que  es  un  mixto  formado  de  lo  Comico  y  lo  Tragico,  etc. 
He  further  says  that  Spaniards  want  their  comedias  "abivado  con  say- 
netes  de  bayles  y  danzas  que  mezclan  en  ellas."  Norte  de  la  Poesia 
espafiola,  etc.    Valencia,  1616. 

274 


SUAREZ  DE  FIGUEROA  275 

spectateur,  mais  une  action  dramatique  telle  seulement 
que  les  Espagnols  I'ont  congue ;  la  comedia  est  le  drame 
espagnol  et  n'est  que  cela."  The  same  author  says  that 
comedia  is  identical  with  our  "play"  or  the  German 
Schauspiel.  "Les  drames  les  plus  noirs  de  Calderon  sent 
encore  des  comedias."^ 

Attempts  have  frequently  been  made  to  define  more 
clearly  the  various  kinds  of  comedias,  but  it  cannot  be  said, 
that,  upon  the  whole,  they  have  resulted  satisfactorily. 
The  earliest  of  these  e^ays  was  m  by  a  dramatist 
who  was  the  first  to  write  comedias  in  Spain  in  the  manner 
which,  as  afterward  perfected  by  Lope  de  Vega,  became 
the  comedia  par  excellence.  I  allude  to  Bartolome  de 
Torres  Naharro,  whose  volume  of  plays,  under  the  title 
Propaladia,  was  first  published  at  Naples  in  1512^  He  ^ 
HTvides  comedias  into  two  classes :  Comedias  a  noticia,  or 
such  as  treat  of  events  which  have  actually  happened,  and 
Comedias  a  fantasia,  or  such  the  action  of  which  is  the 
pure  invention  of  the  author.^ 

Suarez  de  Figueroa,  who  possessed  an  intimate  know- 
ledge of  the  theater  of  his  time,  writing  in  161 7,  distin- 
guishes two  kinds  of  comedias :  ( i )  Comedias  de  cuerpo 
and  (2)  Comedias  de  Ingenio  or  de  Capa  y  Espada.  The 
latter  division  he  does  not  define;  of  the  former  he  says: 
"Comedias  de  cuerpo  (if  we  except  those  about  the  kings 
of  Hungary  or  princes  of  Transylvania)  are  such  as  treat 
of  the  life  of  some  saint  and  which  employ  all  kinds  of 
machinery  and  stage  artifices  to  attract  the  rabble."^ 
These  are  generally  called  comedias  de  santos. 

^  La  Comedia  espagnole  du  XV W  Steele,  par  Alfred  Morel-Fatio,  Paris, 
1885,  pp.  10,  13. 

^"Cuanto  a  los  generos  de  comedias:  a  mi  parece  que  bastarian  dos 
para  en  nuestra  lengua  castellana.  Comedia  a  noticia  y  comedia  a  fan- 
tasia. A  noticia  se  entiende:  de  cosa  nota  y  vista  en  realidad  de  verdad: 
como  son  Soldadesca  y  Tinellaria  [two  of  his  plays] :  a  fantasia,  de  cosa 
fantastica  o  fingida  que  tenga  color  de  verdad  aunque  no  lo  sea,  como  son 
Serafina,  Ymenea,"  etc. 

^  El  Passagero,  Madrid,  1617,  Aiivio  III,  fol.  104.     Comedias  de  cuerpo. 


276  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Comedias  de  Capa  y  Espada  have  been  defined  as  plays 
that  are  based  upon  events  and  occurrences  in  ordinary 
daily  life  and  in  which  no  higher  personages  intervene 
than  noblemen  or  gentlemen,  and  which  are  acted  in  the 
ordinary  costume  of  the  time.  They  derived  their  name 
from  this  costume,  the  cloak  and  sword,  the  dress  of  the 
higher  ranks  of  society  in  Spain;  only  the  subordinate 
characters,  the  servants  and  peasants,  were  represented  in 
the  costume  of  the  lower  classes.^  They  generally  re- 
quired little  or  no  scenery  for  their  representation. 
Schack  says,  moreover,  that  the  distinguishing  character- 
istics of  the  Comedia  de  Capa  y  Espada  are  based  entirely 
upon  external  circumstances  {duszerliche  Umstdnde)  and 
that  it  is  erroneous  to  introduce  into  the  definition  any 
inner  motive  of  the  action.  They  have  been  defined  as 
dramas  of  intrigue,  but  they  may  just  as  well,  in  certain 
instances,  be  denominated  dramas  of  character.^  It  is 
indeed  futile  to  attempt,  in  this  general  division  of  the 
comedia,  to  draw  any  sharp  dividing  line.  On  the  other 
hand,  those  comedias  the  action  of  which  is  not  laid  in 
ordinary  domestic  life,  and  in  which  kings  and  princes 
intervene,  and  which  required  a  greater  display  of  scenery 
or  costume  and  machinery,  were  called  Comedias  de  Tea- 
tro,  de  ruido,  or  de  cuerpo.  To  this  class  belonged  his- 
torical or  mythological  dramas,  those  based  upon  legends 

Figueroa  says,  are  excellently  suited  to  beginners,  for,  however  worthless 
they  may  turn  out,  the  audience  will  not  dare  to  hiss  them,  out  of  respect 
for  the  saint.  They  are,  moreover,  the  easiest  to  write,  for  he  states  that 
he  knew  a  tailor  in  Toledo  who  had  composed  several  of  these  plays 
which  had  been  represented  fifteen  or  twenty  times.  This  man  could 
neither  read  nor  write,  but  made  his  verses  on  the  street  and  would  re- 
quest an  apothecary,  or  any  other  shopkeeper  in  whose  shop  he  happened 
to  be,  to  write  his  verses  down  upon  scraps  of  paper. 

^  Schack,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  II,  p.  96. 

*The  dramatist  Francisco  Bances  CandamOj  in  an  inedited  work  already 
cited  (p.  266,  note  i),  ascribes  the  invention  of  Comedias  de  Capa  y  Espada 
to  Don  Diego  [Ximenez]  de  Enciso:  "Este  empezo  las  que  llaman  de 
capa  y  espada:  siguieronle  despues  D.  Pedro  Rosete,  D.  Francisco  de 
Rojas,  D.  Pedro  Calderon  de  la  Barca,"  etc.  (Ticknor,  History  of  Spanish 
Literature,  tr.  by  Gayangos,  Tome  II,  p.  553.) 


THE  LICENSING  OF  COMEDIAS        277 

or  the  lives  of  saints,  etc.,  in  which  the  scene  of  action  was 
laid  in  some  remote  country  or  period.  But  here  again  it 
is  useless  to  attempt  any  sharp  distinction,  which,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  dramatists  themselves  never  attempted. 
Let  us  now  turn  to  the  representation  of  a  comedia. 
Before  a  theatrical  performance  could  be  given  in  any 
town  or  municipality,  a  license  had  to  be  obtained,  and 
sometimes,  before  this  was  granted,  a  gratuitous  repre- 
sentation of  the  comedia  had  to  be  given  to  the  authori- 
ties.^ Moreover,  every  time  a  comedia  was  represented,  a 
special  license  was  necessary,  which  was  written  upon  the 
manuscript  used  by  the  players.  Among  the  early  manu- 
scripts of  Lope  de  Vega  containing  such  licenses  are  El 
Leal  Criado,  dated  at  Alba,  June  24,  1594,  which  con- 
tains, among  others,  a  license  to  Luis  de  Vergara  to  repre- 
sent it  in  Granada,  dated  October  30,  1595.^ 

'  This  "representation  speciale  et  gratuite"  was  also  frequently  exacted 
in  France,  as  in  the  case  of  Roland  Guibert  and  his  company  before  they 
were  permitted  to  act  in  Amiens  in  1559.  (Rigal,  Le  Theatre  Franqais  avant 
la  periode  classique,  Paris,  1901,  p.  17.)  Likewise  the  English  comedians 
who  traveled  through  Germany  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  and  in 
the  seventeenth  century  were  frequently  obliged  to  give  a  trial  perform- 
ance before  receiving  a  license  to  act;  to  this  performance  the  wives 
and  children  of  the  members  of  the  Council  were  admitted  free.  This 
occurred,  for  instance,  in  Frankfort  in  1592.  A  list  of  the  plays  to  be 
given  also  had  to  be  furnished  to  the  city  authorities,  as  was  done  at  Ulm 
in  1603  3nd  1609.  Plays  were  announced  by  drums  and  trumpets,  the 
company  parading  the  streets.  In  1613  the  players  went  through  Niirn- 
berg  with  two  drums  and  four  trumpets,  stopping  in  the  squares,  though  in 
this  year  they  were  forbidden  to  halt  in  the  Hay  Market.  In  those  cities 
in  which  the  public  theater  belonged  to  the  municipality,  a  lease  was 
entered  into  between  the  manager  of  the  company  and  the  civil  authorities. 
In  Regensburg  in  1613,  Spencer,  who  is  said  to  have  taken  in  500  gulden 
at  the  first  representation,  had  to  pay  a  weekly  rental  of  22  florins.  That 
these  visits  of  the  English  players  were  profitable  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  for  eight  representations  in  Niirnberg,  from  July  15  to  July  31,  1628, 
the  receipts  were  661  florins  7  kreutzers  and  2  pfennigs,  and  the  number  of 
spectators  varied  from  2665  to  515,  though  this  latter  case  was  the  only 
one  in  which  the  number  fell  below  one  thousand.  (Creizenach,  Die 
Schauspiele  der  Englischen  Komodianten,  Berlin  and  Stuttgart  (no  date), 
p.  XX  et  passim.)  The  fee  for  licensing  a  play  for  performance  in  England 
at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  and  in  the  early  seventeenth  century  was  inva- 
riably seven  shillings.    Hensloiue's  Diary,  ed.  Greg,  Vol.  II,  1908,  p.  115. 

"This  play  contains  another  license  dated  at  Granada,  November  4,  1603, 


278  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Representations  in  the  Madrid  theaters,  as  already  ob- 
served, began  at  two  in  the  afternoon  during  the  six 
months  beginning  with  October  i,  and  at  four  during  the 
remaining  six  months.  The  fee  paid  at  the  door  entitled 
the  person  to  admission  only — to  the  run  of  the  house. 
He  could  stand  in  the  patio  or  pit  with  the  mosqueteros  or 
groundlings,  as  they  were  called  in  the  Elizabethan  thea- 
ter; but  if  he  wanted  a  seat,  an  extra  sum  must  be  paid. 
Those  who  desired  seats  naturally  came  early,  especially 
if  a  new  comedia  was  to  be  given,  and  at  one  time  they 
must  have  resorted  to  the  theater  so  early  in  the  day  that 
this  matter  required  regulation  by  the  government,  and 
the  theaters  were  not  allowed  to  open  their  doors  before 
noon.^ 

While  waiting  for  the  musicians  with  guitars  and  harps 
to  appear,  the  sellers  of  fruit,  confections,  aloja  (a  kind  of 
mead'  barquillos  (a  thin  rolled  wafer),  etc.,  were  busy 
passing  around  among  the  spectators. ^     The  unruly  and 

showing  that  a  new  license  had  to  be  obtained  every  time  the  piece  was 
performed.  Other  early  plays  by  Lope  containing  licenses  are  Laura 
perseguida,  dated  at  Alba,  October  12,  1594;  El  Blason  de  los  Chaves, 
dated  at  Chinchon,  August  20,  1599;  and  Carlos  V.  en  Francia,  Toledo, 
November  20,  1604.  These  licenses  are  all  printed  in  Comedias  Escogidas 
de  Lope  de  Vega,  ed.  Hartzenbusch,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  xvi,  xvii  {Bibl.  de 
^  Autores  Esp.). 

^  Quevedo,  Fida  del  gran  Tacano,  Cap.  XXII,  says  that  when  a  new 
comedia  was  played,  it  was  necessary  to  send  at  twelve  o'clock  for  a  seat: 
"Era  menester  enviar  a  tomar  lugar  a  las  doce,  como  para  Comedia 
nueva."  The  nobility,  who  were  favored  by  government  regulation  in  the 
choice  of  seats,  used  to  send  their  servants  to  secure  them. 

*A  vivid  picture  of  the  interior  of  a  Spanish  theater  at  this  time  is 
given  in  the  comedia  La  Baltasara,  "Comedia  famosa,"  the  first  act  of 
which  was  written  by  Luis  Velez  de  Guevara,  the  second  by  Don  Antonio 
Coello,  and  the  third  by  Don  Francisco  de  Roxas.  The  first  act  represents 
the  interior  of  the  Corral  de  la  Olivera  in  Valencia.  A  bill-poster  ap- 
pears, who  pastes  up  a  placard  announcing  the  performance  of  "la  gran 
comedia  del  Saladino"  by  the  licentiate  Poyo,  to  be  given  by  the  company 
of  Heredia.  The  dialogue  is  carried  on  by  spectators  in  the  theater. 
Presently  the  fruit-sellers  appear  (they  are  designated  by  numbers)  ;  the 
stage  direction  is:  Los  compaheros  repartidos  por  el  patio,  dizen: 

"i.  Avellanas. 
2.  Pinanes  mondados.     3.  Peros  de  Aragon. 
4.  Turron.     5.  Membrillos. 


LOAS  279 

boisterous  audience  signified  its  impatience  by  hissing, 
whistling  upon  keys,  shouting,  and  noises  of  every  con- 
ceivable kind.  Presently  the  musicians  could  be  heard 
templando  los  instrumentos ;  the  hour  for  beginning  the 
performance  had  at  last  arrived,  and  the  musicians  ap- 
peared upon  the  stage  and  sang  a  ballad  or  seguidilla, 
after  which  some  member  of  the  company  entered  to 
echar  la  loa,  i.e.,  "throw  out  the  loa"  or  compliment,  as  It 
was  called  in  technical  phrase.^ 

Loas  occur  in  two  forms,  either  ( i )  as  monologues, 
bearing  generally  but  a  very  imperfect  relation  to  the  fol- 
lowing play  and  frequently  no  relation  whatever,  or  (2) 
as  short,  slight  dramatic  sketches  which  may  be  prefaced 
to  any  comedia,  like  the  loas  of  Rojas  Villandrando  or 
Quiiiones  de  Benavente;  sometimes  the  loa  directs  the 
mind  of  the  auditor  to  what  is  to  follow,  as  the  loas  to 
Calderon's  autos,  or  much  more  rarely  it  may  be  essential 
to  the  comprehension  of  the  play  which  It  precedes,  as  in 
the  loa  to  Calderon's  Los  tres  mayores  Prodigios, 

6.  Suplicaciones,  barquillos. 

7.  Agua  de  Anis,  Cavalleros. 

8.  Aloja  de  nieve  fria. 

9.  Datiles  de  Berberla. 

Vejete:  Que  confusion,  que  locura! 
Viuda:   Todo  esto  hermosura  causa, 
Que  es  de  la  naturaleza 
La  variedad  lo  mejor. 
Vejete:  Los  mogos  de  la  comedia 

Vienen  ya  con  sus  guitarras, 
Con  harpas,  y  con  diversas 
Galas  que  el  Abril  embidia,"  etc. 

{Comedias  Escogidas,  Vol.  I,  Madrid,  i65Z.) 
The  date  of  this  play  is  not  known.  Baltasara  de  los  Reyes,  in  whose 
honor  it  was  written,  was  a  famous  actress  and'the  wife  of  Miguel  Ruiz, 
actor,  who  is  also  one  of  the  characters  in  the  play.  Both  were  acting  in 
the  company  of  Caspar  de  Porres  in  1604,  in  that  of  Melchor  de  Leon  in 
1607,  and  in  that  of  Pedro  de  Valdes  in  1614.  The  play  was  composed 
after  she  had  retired  from  the  stage,  which  she  is  said  to  have  done  at 
the  height  of  her  success,  to  enter  a  hermitage  dedicated  to  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  near  Cartagena.  It  is  probable  that  La  Baltasara  was  written 
about  1630,  when  the  memory  of  the  actress  was  still  fresh  in  the  minds 
of  theater-goers. 

^  Caramuel  says:  "Hodie  Prologus  Comoediis  Hispanis  praeraittitur  et 


28o  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Originally  the  loa  was  recited  for  the  purpose  of  gain- 
ing the  good  will  and  attention  of  the  audience,  which,  we 
are  told,  could  be  done  in  four  ways :  "  ( i )  By  commending 
the  plot,  story,  poet,  or  the  autor  who  represented  the 
play.  (2)  By  censuring  or  upbraiding  the  fault-finder  or 
giving  thanks  to  the  kindly  disposed  auditors.  (3)  The 
third  manner  is  argumentative,  in  which  is  declared  the 
history  or  fable  which  is  to  be  represented,  and  this,  justly, 
is  little  used  in  Spain,  because  it  deprives  the  listener  of 
much  of  the  pleasure  of  the  comedia  to  know  beforehand 
the  outcome  of  the  story  to  be  represented.  (4)  The 
fourth  is  called  mixed;  it  is  styled  tntrqito  because  it  ap- 
pears at  the  beginning,  faraute  because  it  explains  the  ar- 
gument, and  now  they  call  it  loa  because  in  it  the  comedia 
or  the  audience  or  the  festivity  during  which  it  is  given  is 
praised;  .  .  .  but  all  is  directed  to  the  one  end:  to  gain 
the  good  will  and  attention  of  the  audience."^ 

vocatur  Loa,  quia  profunditur  in  Auditorum  laudes:  et  recitare  prologum 
est  echar  la  loa,  quasi  laudes  non  tarn  dicantur  quam  in  Auditores  pro- 
fundantur."     {Rhythmica  (1668),  quoted  by  Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  26.) 

*  "La  loa  o  prologo  de  la  comedia,  que  otros  Uaman  introito  o  faraute, 
a  mi  opinion  no  es  parte  de  la  comedia,  sino  distinto  y  apartado,  y  asi  dire 
aora  lo  que  del  se  puede  dezir.  Al  principio  de  cada  comedia  sale  un 
personage  a  procurar  y  captar  la  benevolencia  y  ateqcion  del  auditorio, 
^  y  esto  haze  en  una  de  quarto  maneras  comendativamente,  encomendando 
la  fabula,  historia,  poeta  o  autor  que  la  representa.  El  segundo  mode  es 
relativo  en  el  qual  se  zayere  y  vitupera  el  murmurador  o  se  rinde  gracias 
a  los  benevolos  oyentes.  El  tercero  modo  es  argumentativo,  en  el  qual  se 
declara  la  historia  o  fabula  que  se  representa,  y  este  con  razon  en  Espana 
es  poco  usado,  por  quitar  mucho  gusto  a  la  comedia,  sabiendose  antes  que 
se  represente  el  sucesso  de  la  histpria.  Llamase  el  quarto  modo  misto  por 
particular  de  los  tres  ya  dichos,  llamaronle  introito  por  entrar  al  principio: 
faraute  por  declarar  el  argumento,  y  aora  le  llaman  loa  por  loar  en  el  la 
comedia,  el  auditorio  o  festividad  en  que  se  hace.  Mas  ya  le  podremos  asi 
llamar,  porque  han  dado  los  poetas  en  alabar  alguna  cosa  como  el  silencio, 
un  numero,  lo  negro,  lo  pequeno  y  otras  cosas  en  que  se  quieren  senalar  y 
mostrar  sus  ingenios,  aunque  todo  deve  ir  ordenado  al  fin  que  yo  dixe, 
que  es  captar  la  benevolencia  y  atencion  del  auditorio."  {Cisne  de  A  polo, 
de  las  excelencias  y  dignidad  y  todo  lo  que  al  Arte  poetico  y  versifi-catorio 
pertenece.  Los  metodos  y  estylos  que  en  sus  obras  deve  seguir  el  poeta. 
Por  Luys  Alfonso  de  Carvallo,  Clerigo.  Medina  del  Campo,  1602,  p.  124. 
Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  23.)  This  is  essentially  what  Alonso  Lopez  Pin- 
ciano  had  said  some  years  before,  in  his  Fhilosophia  Antigua,  Madrid, 


THE  INTROITO  281 

This  peculiarly  Spanish  form  of  prologue  is  a  develop- 
ment of  the  introito,  in  vogue  as  early  as  the  time  of 
Torres  Naharro,  whose  Propaladia  wzs  first  published  in 
15 17.  Here,  however,  the  jntroito  was  merely  a  sort  of 
argument  of  the  play  that  follows.  Likewise  each  of  the 
later  pieces  of  Lope  de  Rueda,  the  Colloquio  de  Camila, 
Colloquio  de  Timbria,  etc.,  is  prefaced  by  an  introito  or 
argumento,  a  brief  resume  of  the  following  play.  This  is 
also  the  case  in  his  comedias,  which  are  accompanied  by 
short  prefatory  notes,  spoken  generally  by  Lope  de  Rueda 
himself,  for  they  are  called  Introito  que  hace  el  Autor. 
But  the  later  loas,  beginning  with  those  of  Lope  de  Vega, 
rarely  have  any  connection  whatever  with  the  comedia 
which  follows.  Generally  they  are  merely  the  relation  of 
some  trivial  incident,  nearly  always  in  a  playful,  humorous 
vein,  and  conclude  with  an  appeal  to  the  good  will  and 
attention  of  the  audience.^  Lope  de  Vega  must  have 
written  a  great  many  of  these  slight  pieces,  nearly  all  of 
which  have  disappeared.  They  are  generally  in  the  ro- 
mance or  ballad  measure,  sometimes  in  redondillas,  and 
vary  in  length  from  a  little  more  than  a  hundred  lines  to 
three  or  four  times  that  number. 

Among  the  best  known  loas  are  those  written  by  Agustin 
de  Rojas  and  printed  in  his  Entertaining  Journey;  they 

1596,  p.  413.  He  calls  the  lua  "prologo":  "Ay  un  prologo,  que  es  dicho 
comendatiuo:  porque  en  el  o  la  fabula,  o  el  autor  es  alabado.  Y  ay  pro- 
logo  relatiuo,  adonde  el  Poeta  da  gracias  al  pueblo,  o  habia  contra  algun 
aduersario.  Ay  le  tambien  argumentatiuo,  que  es  el  que  diximos  daua  luz, 
por  lo  passado  a  lo  porvenir.  Y  ay  prologo  de  todos  mezclado,  que  no 
tiene  nombre  y  se  podria  llamar  prologo  misto." 

*The  first  volume  of  Lope  de  Vega's  Comedias,  Valladolid,  1604,  con- 
tains eleven  loas.  Some  doubt  has  been  can  upon  the  authorship  of  these 
loas.  The  fact,  however,  that  they  were  printed  at  this  early  date  rather 
favors  their  authenticity,  as  no  other  writer  of  loas  was  prominent  at  this 
time,  excepting  Rojas.  Indeed,  some  of  them,  notably  the  one  begin- 
ning Vemos  con  lobregas  nubes  and  the  seventh,  Quien  dize  que  las 
mugeres,  seem  like  Lope's  in  his  best  vein.  There  are  also  five  loas  in  the 
spurious  Part  III  (1612)  of  Lope's  Comedias  and  four  in  Part  VII,  Barce- 
lona, 1617,  and  in  the  Fiestas  del  Santissimo  Sacramento,  ^aragoga,  1644. 
See  below. 


282  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

embrace  both  monologues  and  small  dramatic  sketches  in 
which  a  whole  company  took  part.  It  is  hard  to  see 
wherein  these  longer  has,  performed  by  several  actors 
or  by  a  whole  company,  differed  from  the  entremeses. 
Rojas's  loas  are  upon  every  conceivable  subject;  one  is  in 
praise  of  Seville,  the  city  in  which  the  company  was  about 
to  perform,^  while  another  extols  the  company  of  Antonio 
N^  de  Villegas,^  The  most  famous  of  them  all  is  the  Loa  en 
Alabanza  de  la  Comedia,^  to  which  reference  has  already 
been  made.  Having  passed  in  review  the  most  distin- 
guished dramatists,  the  loa  concludes : 

Who  with  these  is  not  acquainted  ? 

Who,  whom  fame  of  them  not  reacheth? 
Who  in  wonderment  beholds  not 
Their  rare  wit  and  sounding  phrases? 

And  allowing  that 't  is  true, 

'T  is  not  strange  that  I  should  venture 
In  their  name  now  to  entreat  you 
That,  because  of  the  great  rev'rence 

Which  to  their  rare  works  is  owing, 
While  their  plays  are  represented, 
You  may  pardon  the  shortcomings 
Of  the  players  who  perform  them.* 

f      And  so  nearly  all  of  them  conclude  with  a  similar  ap- 
peal.    To  give  a  conception  of  the  diversity  of  subjects 

^  El  Viage  entretenido,  Madrid,  1603,  pp.  9-20. 
*  Ibid.,  pp.  48-55.         *  Ibid.,  pp.  1 18 -1 32. 

r  *"Quien  a  todos  no  conoce? 

quien  a  su  fama  no  llega? 
quien  no  se  admira  de  ver 
sus  ingenios  y  elocuencia? 
Supuesto  que  esto  es  assi, 
no  es  mucho  que  yo  me  atreva 
a  pediros  en  su  nombre, 
que  por  la  gran  reuerencia 
Que  se  les  deue  a  sus  obras, 

mientras  se  hazen  sus  comedias, 
que  las  faltas  perdoneys 
de  los  que  las  representan." 

{Ibid.,  pp'.  131,  132.) 


THE  LOAS  OF  ROJAS  283 

treated  by  Rojas  in  his  loas,  we  may  add  that  there  is  one 
in  praise  of  thieves;^  in  praise  of  Tuesday  ("el  soberano 
dia  Martes")  \^  on  beautiful  teeth  ("colmillos  y  mueles") 
and  how  to  preserve  them;^  one  extolling  the  swine 
("puerco") ,  which  is  very  witty,  and  ends : 

And  if  long  have  been  my  praises 
Of  an  animal  so  lovely, 
May  he  who  should  be  one  pardon 
Me,  and  therefore  not  feel  shameful.* 

Rojas  well  describes  the  loa  in  one  which  he  wrote  in 
praise  of  Sunday,  and  in  it  he  tells  us,  moreover,  that  even 
in  his  day  every  conceivable  subject  had  been  exhausted 
and  that  it  was  impossible  to  write  what  had  not  already 
been  written : 

So  many  and  so  varied  are  the  dramas, 

So  great,  indeed,  the  multitude  of  ballads, 

So  varied,  too,  the  subjects  of  the  loas 

That  have  been  written  hitherto,  I  wonder 

How  one  can  write  what  's  not  already  written, 

Or  we  say  what  has  not  been  said  already. 

Some  make  their  farces  of  involved  inventions, 

Others  of  stories  fabulous  and  fictions, 

Loas  that  sing  the  praises  of  the  letters, 

Of  plants  and  animals  and  varied  colors. 

One  what  is  black,  the  other  white  extolleth, 

Silence  this  one,  humility  that  other, 

And  many  more  which  I  fail  to  remember. 

And  't  is  a  labor  now  as  ill  requited. 

This  writing  loas,  as  in  times  now  distant 

It  by  all  men  was  held  in  estimation,  etc.^ 

^  Ibid.,  p.  681.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  597. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  377.  *  Ibid.,  p.  693. 

^  "Son  tantas  y  tan  varias  las  comedias, 
tanta  la  muchedumbre  de  romances, 
y  tan  grande  el  discurso  de  las  loas, 
que  hasta  agora  se  han  hecho,  que  me  espanto 


2  84  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

He  declares  that  has  were  written : 

In  both  the  ancient  corcedy  and  modern 

To  gain  the  list'ner's  ear  and  kindly  favor,  .  .  . 

To  sing  the  praises  of  its  gallant  spirits, 

And  to  exalt  its  wits  in  their  due  measure. 

Rojas  excelled  in  writing  these  slight  pieces;  his  are 
among  the  very  best  that  have  come  down  to  us,  and  it  is 
interesting  to  know  that  he  was  the  member  of  the  com- 
pany who  not  only  wrote  the  has,  but  who  also  invariably 
recited  them. 

To  about  the  same  period  or  a  little  later  belongs  the 
well-known  collection  of  has  and  entremeses  of  Luis 
Quiiiones  de  Benavente,  first  published  under  the  title 
Joco  Seria,  Burlas  Veras,  etc.,  Madrid,  1645.  I"  these 
several  actors  always  take  part  and  sometimes  the  entire 
company  for  which  they  were  written.  A  number  of  them 
serve  as  a  kind  of  introduction  of  the  company  to  the  audi- 
ence; the  pecullaiities  of  the  actors  are  hit  off,  their  ability 
is  praised,  and  the  new  comedias  which  the  company 
brings  are  mentioned;  like  all  these  compositions,  they  are 
written  in  a  jovial,  humorous  vein,  intended  to  put  the 
^audience  in  good  spirits.^ 

que  nadie  pueda  hazer  mas  de  lo  hecho, 

ni  nosotros  dezir  mas  de  lo  dicho. 

Unos  hazen  las  farsas  de  maranas, 

otros  de  historias  fabulas,  ficciones, 

las  loas  de  alabangas  de  las  letras, 

de  plantas,  animales,  de  colores, 

uno  alaua  lo  negro,  otro  lo  bianco, 

este  el  silencio,  la  humildad  el  otro, 

sin  otras  muchas,  de  que  no  me  acuerdo. 
Y  es  trabajo  tan  mal  agradecido, 

esto  de  loas,  como  en  otro  tiempo 

fue  de  todos  los  hombres  estimado,"  etc. 

{El  Viage  entreten'tdo,  Madrid,  1603,  pp.  569,  S?®-) 
*They  have  been  republished  by  Don  Cayetano  Rosell,  Entremeses,  Loas 
y  J  dear  as,  escritas  por  el  Licenciado  Luis  Quiiiones  de  Benavente, 
Madrid,  1872,  1874,  2  vols.  Many  of  them  are  of  especial  importance  as 
furnishing  interesting  information  concerning  some  of  the  most  prominent 
players  of  the  time. 


THE  LOAS  OF  BENAVENTE  285 

It  appears  that  the  loa  had  lost  much  of  its  vogue  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  second  decade  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. Indeed,  according  to  Suarez  de  Figueroa,  loas  had 
already  ceased  to  be  recited  in  1617.  He  says:  "In  the 
farces  which  are  ordinarily  represented  they  have  already 
discontinued  that  part  called  the  loa,  and  from  the  slight 
purpose  which  it  served  and  the  fact  that  it  was  wholly 
foreign  to  the  subject-matter  of  the  play,  it  was  certainly 
an  advantage  to  suppress  it."  ^  It  is  difficult  to  reconcile 
Figueroa's  statement,  however,  with  the  known  fact  that 
loas  continued  to  accompany  the  comedia,  though  not  with 
the  frequency  of  former  years,  long  after  the  date  men- 
tioned; indeed,  some  of  Quifiones  de  Benavente's  loas 
were  written  twenty  years  after  this. 

These  loas,  as  already  stated,  from  being  simple  recitals 
by  a  single  member  of  the  company,  gradually  became 
short,  humorous  pieces  which  did  not  differ  essentially 
from  the  entremeses  or  short  interludes  which  always  ac- 
companied the  comedia,  except  that  they  were  wholly 
without  plot  and  consisted  merely  of  dialogue  held  to- 
gether by  the  loosest  thread.  They  were  generally  accom- 
panied by  music  and  singing.  Some  were  sung  .in  part,  as 
the  loa  with  which  Antonio  de  Rueda  and  Pedro  Ascanio 
began  to  represent  in  Madrid  in  1638.^  Here  the  loa 
opens  with  Borja,  an  actor,  who  enters  with  a  harp,  fol- 
lowed by  Maria  de  Heredia,  both  singing.  The  scene 
upon  the  stage  at  the  beginning  of  another  loa  with 
which  Tomas  Fernandez  began  at  Madrid  in  1636  is 
indicated  at  the  opening:  "Enter  the  whole  company  two 
by  two,  with  hands  joined,  dancing  to  the  sound  of  instru- 

^  "En  las  farsas  que  comunmente  se  representan,  han  quitado  ya  esta 
parte  que  llaman  Loa.  Y  segun  de  lo  poco  que  servia,  y  quan  fuera  de 
proposito  era  su  tenor,  anduvieron  acertados.  Salia  un  farandulero,  y 
despues  de  pintar  largaraente  una  nave  con  borrasca,  6  la  disposicion  de 
un  exercito,  su  acometer  y  pelear,  concluia  con  pedir  atencion  y  silencio, 
sin  inferirse  per  ningun  case  de  lo  uno  lo  otro."  {El  Passagero,  Madrid, 
1617,  fol.  109.) 

^Entremeses,  etc.,  de  Quinones  de  Benavente,  ed.  Rosell,  Vol.  I,  p.  366. 


286  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

ments  and  bearing  torches;  making  a  reverence,  they 
sing.  Juanico,  the  son  of  Bernardo,  is  to  be  on  the  stage 
before  the  loa  begins,  playing  with  two  other  boys,  and  as 
soon  as  his  father  enters  he  is  to  tell  him  (Juanico)  to 
keep  quiet."  ^ 

The  loa  with  which  Roque  de  Figueroa's  company  re- 
turned to  Madrid  in  i633(?)  appears  to  have  been 
whollysung,  except  the  autor's  introductory  dialogue  with 
the  actor  Bezon.  It  is  entitled  **Loa  segunda  que  canto 
Roque  de  Figueroa,"  etc.^ 

The  loa  being  concluded,  the  first  act  or  Jornada^  of  the 
comedia  followed,  though,  as  Ticknor  says,  "in  some  in- 
stances a  dance  was  interposed,  and  sometimes  even  a 
ballad  followed  this,  so  importunate  was  the  audience  for 
what  was  lightest  and  most  amusing."  After  the  first  act 
an  entremes  followed,  and  perhaps  another  bayle  or 
dance. 

The  name  entremeses  (French  entremets,  a  side-dish), 
applied  to  festal  pieces  accompanied  by  singing,  is  found 

^Entremeses,  etc.,  de  Quifiones  de  Benavente,  ed.  Rosell,  Vol.  I,  p.  288. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  224.  In  a  loa  represented  by  Lorenzo  Hurtado  in  Madrid 
(i632(?)  or  i635(?))  the  direction  is  given  at  the  opening:  "Enter 
Bernardo  without  singing,  to  throw  out  the  loa." 

^  While  the  term  Jornada  instead  of  act  had  been  commonly  employed 
in  the  religious  plays  of  the  Middle  Ages,  which  often  lasted  several  days, 
and  was  also  used  by  Torres  Naharro  as  early  as  1517,  that  word  is  not 
found  in  the  manuscripts  of  Lope  de  Vega,  who  always  uses  Acto  instead, 
and  this  seems  to  have  been  the  custom  of  Tirso  de  Molina,  to  judge  from 
the  only  autograph  of  his.  La  Tercera  de  la  Sancta  Juana  (1613),  that  I 
have  seen.  That  the  term  Jornada,  however,  was  well  known  at  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  is  shown  by  the  definition  of  Luys 
Alfonso  de  Carvallo:  "Jornada  es  nombre  Italiano,  quiere  decir  cosa  de 
un  dia,  porque  giorno  significa  al  dia.  Y  tomase  por  la  distincion  y 
mudanga  que  se  hace  en  la  comedia  de  cosas  sucedidas  en  diferentes 
tiempos  y  dias,  como  si  queriendo  representar  la  vida  de  un  Santo  hiciese- 
mos  de  la  ninez  una  Jornada,  de  la  edad  perfecta  otra,  y  otra  de  la  vejez." 
{Ctsne  de  A  polo,  etc.,  Medina  del  Campo,  1602,  quoted  by  Schack,  Nach- 
trdge,  p.  23.)  Jornada  seems  to  have  been  reintroduced  into  current  usage 
by  Calderon  and  his  school.  Virues,  Obras  trdgicas,  etc.,  Madrid,  1609, 
uses  both  terras.  Caramuel  says:  "Actus  est  id,  quod  hodie  vocamus  Jor- 
nada: et  jam  praescripsit  consuetude,  ut  Comoedia  nonnisi  tres  actus 
habeat  et  duabus  horis  repraesentetur."  (Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  26.) 


ENTREMESES  287 

as  early  as  141 2  in  the  Archives  of  Valencia,  and,  as  we 
have  seen,^  Lamarca  claims  a  Valencian  origin  for  these 
entremesos,  as  they  were  called.^  It  is  very  probable  that 
entremeses,  originally  perhaps  of  a  quasi-religious  char- 
acter, formed  a  part  of  the  great  church  festivals  from  the 
earliest  times.  But  these  short  pieces  were  gradually 
stripped  of  any  religious  significance  they  may  have  had, 
and  finally  every  short  farce  or  interlude  was  called  an 
entremes.  Such  pieces,  especially  designated  as  entre- 
meses,  were  brought  out  at  festivals  by  the  great  Consta- 
ble Don  Alvaro  de  Luna.^  Lope  de  Vega,  in  his  Arte 
nuevo  de  hacer  Comedias,  speaking  of  Lope  de  Rueda, 
says  that  "from  him  has  remained  the  custom  of  calling 

*  Introduction,  p.  xi. 

'Wolf  speaks  of  "jene  Festschaustucke  mit  Gesang,  die,  wie  bei  den 
Nordfranzosen  Entremets,  damals  auch  in  Spanien  'Entramesos'  oder 
Entremeses  genannt  wurden"  (Studien,  p.  585),  and  discussing  the  six- 
rfeenth-century  MSS.  of  Autos  and  Parses,  since  published  by  Rouanet  (see 
above,  p.  7,  note  2),  he  remarks  concerning  the  Entremes  de  las  Esteras, 
contained  therein:  "Dass  dieses  Stiick  schon  zu  den  Entremeses  in  der 
spatern  allgemein  ublich  gewordenen  Bedeutung  dieses  Gattungsnamens 
gehort  habe,  wird  aus  dera  Personenverzeichniss  {figures)  wahrschein- 
lich;  denn  es  treten  darin  auf :  ^Melchora,  Antona,  un  bobo,  un  lacayo, 
un  bachiller,  el  amo  de  las  mozas.'  Hier  hatten  wir  also  das  alteste 
Document  fiir  den  Gebrauch  von  'Entremes'  in  dieser  Bedetung."  {Ibid., 
p.  598,  note.)  An  entremes  belonging  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, written  by  Sebastian  de  Horozco  of  Toledo,  is  now  printed  in  his 
Cancionero,  Seville,  1874,  pp.  167  flF.  It  is  entitled:  "Un  Entremes  que 
hizo  el  auctor  a  ruego  de  una  Monja  parienta  suya  evangelista  para 
representarse  como  se  represento  en  un  Monasterio  de  esta  Cibdad 
(Toledo)  dia  de  Sant  Ju^  Evangelista."  "Introduzense  quatro  personas.— 
Un  villano  que  viene  a  comprar  al  alcana  [antigua  calle  de  Toledo 
donde  se  conservaban  las  tiendas  a  la  usanza  morlsca]  ciertas  cosas  para 
dar  a  una  zagala; — y  un  Pregonero  que  entra  pregonando,  una  mo^a  de 
veinte  anos  perdida; — y  un  Fraile  que  pide  para  las  animas  del  purga- 
torio,  d  quien  los  otros  cuelgan  porque  los  combide,  porque  dizen  que  se 
llama  fray  Ju"  evangelista; — y  un  Bunolero  que  pregona  bunuelos 
calientes.  Comen  los  bunuelos  y  despues  raantean  al  fraile  sobre  la  paga. 
Y  vanse  todos  a  beber  a  una  taberna  y  asi  se  acaba." 

*Ticknor,  Vol.  I,  p.  271,  note.  "Fue  muy  inventivo  c  mucho  dado  a 
fallar  invenciones,  e  sacar  entremeses  en  fiestas,"  etc.  Cronica  de  D. 
Alvaro  de  Luna,  Madrid,  1784,  p.  182.  As  Ticknor  remarks :  "It  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  these  were  like  the  gay  farces  that  have  since  passed  under 
the  same  name,  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  they  were  poetical  and 
were  exhibited."    Don  Alvaro  was  executed  in  1453. 


288  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

the  old  comedias  entremeses."^  Entremeses,  the  editor 
of  Quinones  de  Benavente  observes,  were  for  the  pur- 
pose of  avoiding  the  tedium  between  the  acts,  for  with- 
out them  "la  mejor  comedia  tiene  hoy  el  peligro  de 
los  desaires  que  padece  entre  Jornada  y  Jornada."  "And 
so,"  he  continues,  "a  manager  who  had  a  poor  comedia, 
by  putting  in  two  entremeses  of  this  kind,  gave  it  crutches 
to  prevent  it  from  falling,  and  he  who  had  a  good  one 
put  wings  to  it,  to  raise  it  still  higher."^ 

Lope  de  Vega,  alluding  to  his  youthful  efforts  in  writing 
comedias,  says: 

And  some  I  wrote  at  eleven  years  and  at  twelve, 

Each  of  four  acts  as  well  as  of  four  sheets, 

For  each  act  was  contained  within  a  sheet, 

And  in  the  spaces  three  that  came  between, 

Three  little  entremeses  then  were  made, 

Though  now  there  's  scarce  one,  and  a  bayle  too,^  etc. 

Of  these  entremeses  Lope  certainly  wrote  a  great  many; 
whether  those  printed  in  the  volumes  of  his  Comedias 
are  really  his,  it  is  impossible  to  decide,  nor  can  the 
entremeses  contained  in  the  Fiestas  del  Santissimo  Sacra- 
mento, Zaragoza,  1644,  be  ascribed  to  him  with  cer- 
/tainty,^  They  are  of  varying  length  and  character,  some 
being  dramatic,  some  lyrical. 

*  Edition  of  Milan,  i6n,  p.  363.  Ticknor  rightly  traces  the  entremeses 
of  Lope  de  Vega  back  to  Lope  de  Rueda,  whose  short  farces  were  of  the 
same  nature,  while  into  his  longer  pieces  Rueda  introduced  pasos  or  pas- 
sages, which  might  be  detached  from  them  and  used  as  entremeses.  They 
were  short  and  lively  dialogues  in  prose  without  plot  "and  merely  in- 
tended to  amuse  an  idle  audience  for  a  few  moments."  History  of  Spanish 
Literature,  Vol.  II,  p.  63.  Timoneda  published  an  entremes  in  1565,  which 
Barrera  says  is  "la  mas  antigua  obra  de  teatro  asi  denominada."  Catd- 
logo,  p.  393. 

"^Entremeses,  etc.,  de  Quinones  de  Benavente,  ed.  Roseil,  Vol.  I,  p.  xx. 
"Entremes  apud  Hispanos  est  Comoedia  brevis,  in  qua  Actores  ingeniose 
nugantur."  Caramuel,  Rhythmica,  Campaniae,  1668,  quoted  by  Schack, 
Nachtrdge,  p.  26. 

*  Arte  nue'vo  de  hacer  Comedias,  Madrid,  1609,  fol.  206. 

*Of  the  various  editions  of  Part  I  of  Lope's  Comedias  which  I  possess, 


LOPE  DE  VEGA'S  ENTREMESES        289 

Many  collections  of  entremeses  were  published  in  the 
seventeenth  century;  the  earliest  and  one  of  the  best  is 
that  by  Luis  Quifiones  de  Benavente,  so  often  mentioned 

those  of  Valladolid,  1604;  Amberes,  1607,  and  Milan,  1619,  contain  the 
has  only,  while  that  of  Valladolid,  1609,  contains  both  the  has  and 
entremeses,  the  latter  at  the  end  of  the  volume.  The  title  is:  Primera 
Parte  de  Entremeses  de  las  Comedias  de  Lope  de  Vega.  As  but  few 
copies  of  this  first  part  contain  these  entremeses,  I  give  a  list  of  them: 
(i)  Entr ernes  primero  de  Melisendra.  It  is  divided  into  two  jornadas  and 
is  preceded  by  a  "ioa  muy  graciosa";  the  entremes  is  in  verse  and 
occupies  nine  pages;  it  is,  in  fact,  a  burlesque  comedy,  {z)  Entremes 
segundo  del  Padre  enganado.  (3)  Entremes  tercero  del  Capeador. 
(4)  Entremes  quarto  del  Doctor  Simple.  (5)  Entremes  quinto  de  Pedro 
Hernandez  y  el  Corregidor.  (6)  Entremes  sexto  de  los  Alimentos. 
(7)  Entremes  septimo  de  los  Negros  de  Santo  Thome.  (8)  Entremes 
octauo  del  Indiana.  (9)  Entremes  noveno  de  la  Cuna.  (10)  Entremes 
decimo  de  los  Ladrones  enganados.  {11)  Entremes  undecimo  de  la 
Dama  fingida.  (12)  Entremes  duodecimo  de  la  Endemoniada.  All  these 
except  the  first  are  in  prose.  The  so-called  third  part  of  Lope's  Comedias 
—  Tercera  Parte  de  las  Comedias  de  Lope  de  Vega,  y  otros  Autores,  con 
sus  Loas  y  Entremeses,  etc.,  Madrid,  En  casa  de  Miguel  Serrano  de  Vargas, 
Ano  1613 — contains  the  following  entremeses:  (i)  Entremes  famoso  del 
Sacristan  Soguijo,  (2)  Entremes  famoso  de  los  Romanos  (should  be  los 
Romances)^  (3)  Entremes  famoso  de  los  Huebos,  and  these  has:  En  Ala- 
banqa  de  la  Espada,  De  las  Calidades  de  las  Mugeres,  La  Batalla  Nabal, 
De  las  Letras  del  a.  b.  c,  Del  suntuoso  Escurial.  These  entremeses  are  very 
witty,  especially  the  second,  the  subject  being  a  peasant  who  has  been 
driven  mad  by  reading  the  Romancero.  Part  VII  of  Lope's  Comedias, 
Barcelona,  1617,  also  contains  three  entremeses:  Los  Habladores,  La 
Carcel  de  Semlla,  and  El  Hospital  de  los  Podridos,  which  are,  however, 
now  generally  ascribed  to  Cervantes.  It  should  be  stated  that  Lope  ex- 
pressly denies  the  authorship  of  the  loas  and  entremeses  contained  in 
the  volumes  which  preceded  Part  IX  of  his  Comedias.  In  the  pro- 
logue to  Part  XV,  Madrid,  1621,  he  alludes  to  them  as  those  "loas 
y  entremeses  que  el  no  imagino  en  su  vida,"  while  the  entremeses 
in  Part  VIII  are  expressly  declared  in  the  volume  itself  to  be  the 
work  of  Francisco  de  Avila  and  of  Barrionuevo.  The  fact,  how- 
ever, that  Lope  denies  his  authorship  should  not  be  taken  too  seri- 
ously. He  also  asserted  that  all  the  volumes  of  his  Comedias  preced- 
ing. Part  IX  were  published  without  his  knowledge,  though  for  some  of 
the  volumes,  at  least,  this  can  be  disproved!  (See  my  Life  of  Lope  de 
Vega,  p.  253.)  Concerning  the  rare  volume,  of  which  I  possess  a  copy, 
entitled  Fiestas  del  Santissimo  Sacramento,  which  also  contains  has  and 
entremeses  attributed  to  Lope,  a  word  may  be  said  here.  Menendez  y 
Pelayo  writes:  "Es  cierto  que  las  loas  y  los  entremeses  no  son  de  Lope, 
a  lo  menos  en  su  totalidad,  pero  tampoco  el  colector  los  dio  por  tales, 
limitandose  a  decir  que  se  habian  representndo  en  la  Corte  con  los  autos. 
{Lope  de  Vega,  ed.  Spanish"  Academy,  Vol  II,  p.  2.)  Of  these  Sr. 
Menendez  ascribes  without  qualification  to  Benavente:  La  Muestra  de  los 
Carros,  Los  Organos,  and  El  Remediador;  he  states  that  La  Hechizera 


290  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

in  these  pages.^  Among  these  a  number  were  wholly  sung, 
while  others  were  partly  sung  and  partly  recited.  Among 
the  former,  called  Entremeses  cantados,  like  that  of  La 
Puente  Segoviana,  La  Guar dainf ante,  and  others,  some 
are  so  short  that  it  could  have  taken  but  a  few  minutes  to 
perform  them.  Others  are  dramatic  in  character  and  con- 
tain the  liveliest  dialogue  in  the  language  of  the  barrios 
bajos. 

Generally   two    entremeses    accompanied   a    comedia,^ 
though  sometimes  even  three  were  played,  one  following 

may  be  by  Lope  and  that  the  loa  en  Morisco  is  also  probably  Lope's,  be- 
cause the  Moor  who  recites  it  is  named  Ametillo,  who  was  a  slave  of 
Lope's  friend  Caspar  de  Barrionuevo  in  Seville  in  1603.  (See  also  Life 
of  Lope  de  Vega,  pp.  112,  113.)  It  seems  that  some  objection  might  be 
made  to  the  ascription  of  La  Muestra  de  los  Carros  to  Benavente.  It  does 
not  appear  in  the  latter's  Joco  Seria,  published  in  1645  (the  year  following 
the  appearance  of  the  Fiestas  del  Santissimo  Sacramento),  and  was  not 
again  printed,  to  my  knowledge,  until  1658,  in  the  Teatro  poetico,  at  Zzltzl- 
goza.  Moreover,  its  general  style  and  the  reference  to  the  actress  la  Bezona 
seem  more  in  the  manner  of  Lope.  Los  Organos,  ascribed  above  to  Bena- 
vente, was  written  by  Braones.  (See  below,  p.  295,  note  2.)  For  an  excellent 
account  of  the  entremeses,  see  Intermedes  espagnols  du  XVII^  Siicle,  par 
Leo  Rouanet,  Paris,  1897.  Cervantes  excelled  all  others  in  this  species  of 
composition. 

^A  list  of  the  various  collections  of  entremeses  will  be  found  in  the 
preliminary  pages  of  Rosell's  edition,  though  I  miss  the  following:  Migaxas 
del  Ingenio,  y  Apacible  Entretenimiento,  en  varios  Entremeses,  Bayles,  y 
Loas,  escogidas  de  los  mejores  Ingenios  de  Espan  .  .  .  Impresso  por 
^  Diego  Dormer  Impressor  de  la  Ciudad,  y  del  Hospital  Real,  y  General 
de  nuestra  Seiiora  de  Gracia,  de  la  Ciudad  de  Zaragoga.  A  Costa  de 
Juan  Martinez  de  Ribera  Martel,  Mercader  de  Libros.  iv  +  96  fols.  i6mo. 
It  bears  no  date,  but  was  probably  printed  between  1670  and  1675.  It 
contains  two  entremeses  by  Benavente  {Los  E sender os  y  el  Lacayo  and 
El  Desengano),  one  by  Monteser,  and  a  loa  by  Zaualeta;  all  the  rest  are 
by  Lanini.  I  am  indebted  to  my  colleague.  Dr.  Crawford,  for  the  use  of 
this  little  book,  which  is  excessively  rare.  For  a  description  of  this  collec- 
tion, see  Moi/^rn  Lan^«a^^  A'^o/^j,  1907,  p.  52.  Since  the  above  was  written 
this  volume  has  been  republished  (Madrid,  1909)  with  excellent  notes  by 
Cotarelo  y  Mori. 

^  In  some  instances,  however,  only  one  entremes  is  specified  to  be  repre- 
sented with  a  comedia,  as  in  August,  1603,  when  Nicolas  de  los  Rios 
represented  at  Fuenlabrada  an  auto  with  two  entremeses  and  a  comedia 
with  its  entremes,  music,  and  bayle.  (Nuevos  Datos,  p.  81.)  In  1604 
Gaspar  de  Porres  represented  in  Esquivias  an  auto  with  three  entremeses 
and  a  comedia  with  three  other  entremeses.  {Ibid.,  p.  87.  See  also  ibid., 
pp.  90,  98.)  It  will  be  noticed  that  these  were  all  representations  in  small 
towns. 


JACARAS  291 

the  loa,  and  the  play  always  concluded  with  a  hayle  or 
dance : 

Y  al  fin  con  un  baylecito 

yua  la  gente  contenta.^ 

Besides  the  entremeses  and  bayles,  short  pieces  called 
jdcaras  were  also  sung  between  the  acts  of  a  comedia. 
Pellicer  describes  these  jdcaras  cantadas  as  ballads  set  to   A 
music.2  "^ 

The  volume  of  loas  and  entremeses  written  by  Bena- 
vente  also  contains  six  jdcaras.  Some  were  sung  by  a 
single  actress,  as  the  Jdcara  de  Dona  Isabel,  la  Ladrona, 
que  azotaron  y  cortaron  las  orejas  en  Madrid,  sung  by 
Francisca  Paula,  which  contains  two  hundred  odd  verses 
written  in  ballad  measure;  others  were  sung  by  several 
members  of  the  company,  not  only  upon  the  stage,  but,  to 
add  zest  to  them,  they  were  sung  from  different  parts  of 
the  theater,  for,  as  Pellicer  says,  the  public  "was  crazy 
about  them"  (era  perdido  por  ellas).  In  the  jdcara  that 
was  sung  by  the  company  of  Bartolome  Romero  (1637- 
1643  (?)  )•>  Tomas,  the  gracioso,  stood  upon  the  stage, 
Juliana  in  the  cazuela  or  women's  gallery,  Maria  de 
Valcazar  in  the  uppermost  gallery  (en  lo  alto  del  teatro) , 
Pedro  Real  in  the  gradas,  Pedro  de  Valcazar  in  the 
grada  segunda,  and  Ines  in  the  desvan?  In  another 
jdcara,  sung  by  the  same  company,  Maria  de  Valcazar 
appeared  in  the  patio,  or  pit,  on  horseback.^ 

^Rojas,  Viage  Entretenido,  ed.  1603,  p.  126. 

'  "Jdcaras  cantadas,  que  eran  los  Romances  puestos  en  musica."     (His- 
trionismo,  I,  p.  164.)     Ticknor  defines  them  as  "roistering  ballads,  in  the  \ 
dialect  of  the  rogues,  which  took  their  name  from  the  bullies  who  sang  ~ 
them,  and  were  at  one  time  rivals  for  favor  with  the  regular  entremeses.'* 
(Vol.  II,  p.  533.) 

'Entremeses  de  Benavente,  ed.  Rosell,  Vol.  I,  p.  220. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  286.  The  Diccionario  de  Autoridades  thus  defines  the  Xacara: 
*  Composicion  Poetica,  que  se  forma  en  el  que  llaman  Romance,  y  regular- 
mente  se  refiere  en  ella  algun  sucesso  particular,  6  extrano.  Usase  mucho 
el  cantarla  entre  los  que  llaman  Xaques,  de  donde  pudo  tomar  el  nombre. 
-  .  .  Xaque  en  la  Germania  significa  el  Rufian." 


292  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

The  requests  for  jdcaras  generally  came  from  the  occu- 
pants of  the  pit  or  patio,  and  in  case  the  audience  did  not 
demand  them,  a  player  was  sometimes  stationed  in  the 
patio,  who  called  for  a  jdcara,  as  in  the  one  which  Fran- 
cisca  Paula  sang  in  the  company  of  Bartolome  Romero 
(in  i638(?)  or  i64o(?)  ),  where  we  read:  *Tide  en  el 
patio  jacara  un  representante."^  In  the  jdcara  which 
Antonia  Infanta  sang  in  the  company  of  Alonso  de  OI- 
medo  (in  1636  or  1637),  the  stage  direction  is:  Dan 
voces  en  el  patio  pidiendo  jdcaras,  y  sale  Antonia  Infanta, 
y  dice  representando: 

Antonia:  Entendamonos,  senores, 

j  Cuerpo  de  diez  con  sus  vidas, 
De  catorce  con  sus  almas, 
Y  de  veinte  con  su  grita ! 
I  Regodeo  cada  bora  ? 
^Perejil  cada  comida? 
iSainete  cada  bocado? 
^Novedad  cada  visita? 

Medraremos  en  corcova. 
^  Jacarita  cada  dia?^  etc. 

The  piece  concluding  with  the  players  singing : 

^  Jacara  nos  pedistes, 

Ya  OS  la  servimos ; 
Y  si  pidierais  ciento, 
Fuera  lo  mismo. 

And  in  a  jdcara,  also  sung  in  the  company  of  Romero,  the 
gracioso  Tomas  begins: 

I  Que  tanta  jacara  quieres, 
Patio  mal  contentadizo ! 
Ayer  i  no  te  la  cantamos 
Por  todo  cUanto  distrito 
Tiene  este  pobre  corral  ? 

^  Entremeses  de  Benavente,  ed.  Resell,  Vol.  I,  p.  162. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  90. 


SAINETES  293 

Pues  si  no  quedo  resquicio 

Por  donde  no  se  cantasen, 
^  Que  habemos  de  hacer  contigo  ? 

Las  novedades  no  duran 

Por  los  siglos  de  los  siglos. 
^  Por  donde  6  que  han  de  cantar 

Que  no  este  ya  hecho  6  dicho?^ 

One  can  readily  imagine  the  confusion  and  uproar 
caused  in  the  theaters  by  the  turbulent  mob  of  mosqueteros 
shouting  for  jdcaras.  Indeed,  it  finally  became  an  intol- 
erable nuisance  in  Seville,  and  in  1648  the  city  authorities 
threatened  all  such  disturbers  with  fine  and  imprison- 
ment.^ 

These  slight  pieces,  overflowing  with  mirth  and  ex- 
uberant spirits,  rarely  consumed  more  than  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes.  They  find  their  modern  congeners  in  the  Tona- 
dilla. 

Sainete,  a  word  meaning  a  delicacy  or  relish,  came  into 
vogue  as  the  appellation  o^  a  one-act  farce  toward  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  term  sainete,  it 
is  true,  is  found  in  Mariana's  treatise  Contra  los  Juegos 
publicos,  which  originally  appeared  in  Latin,   in    1609, 

^  Ibid.,  p.  284,  and  see  p.  443,  the  jdcara  that  was  sung  in  Ortegon's  com- 
pany in  1635. 

*  "En  la  ciudad  de  Sevilla,  a  diez  y  nueve  dias  del  mes  de  noviembre  de 
mil  y  seiscientos  y  cuarenta  y  ocho  anos,  el  Sr.  D.  Antonio  de  Mendoza, 
Marques  de  San  Miguel,  .  .  .  Teniente  de  Alcaide  destos  Alcazares  Reales 
de  Sevilla,  dijo  que  por  cuanto  en  el  corral  de  La  Monteria  ha  habido  y 
hay  mucho  ruido,  alboroto  y  quistiones  por  causa  de  pedir  a  los  repre- 
sentantes  bailes  y  jacaras  y  otras  cosas  fuera  de  la  representacion,  mando 
se  pregone  en  el  dicho  corral  de  La  Monteria  que  ninguna  persona  de 
cualquier  estado  y  calidad  que  sea  no  inquiete  ni  alborote  las  comedias 
que  se  representan  en  la  dicha  Monteria  pidiendo  jacaras  ni  bailes  ni  otras 
palabras,  sino  que  dejen  representar  a  su  voluntad  lo  que  quisiere  el  autor 
y  su  compania ;  pena  que  el  que  contraviniere  a  ello,  si  la  persona  fuese 
ordinaria,  de  vergiienza  publica  y  dos  anos  de  servicio  de  mamora,  y  las 
demas  personas  de  cien  rail  maravedis  y  dos  anos  de  un  presidio:  y  asi 
lo  mando. — El  Marques  de  San  Miguel."  (Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales  del 
Teatro  en  Sevilla,  p.  381.  See  also  the  excellent  work  of  E.  Merimee,  La 
Vie  et  les  Oeuvres  de  Francisco  de  Quevedo,  Paris,  1885,  pp.  386  ff.) 


294  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

under  the  title  De  Spectactdis}  However,  the  chapter  of 
the  Spanish  translation  (xii)  containing  the  word  is  said 
to  be  a  later  addition. ^  It  occurs  in  the  jdcara  sung  in 
Olmedo's  company  in  Madrid,  in  1636,  as  the  quota- 
tion above  shows;  but  here  the  word  is  used  in  its 
ordinary  meaning,  not  as  a  theatrical  term.  The  earliest 
mention  of  the  word  in  its  present  sense,  that  I  have 
found,  is  in  1639,  when  Antonia  Infante  was  engaged  to 
play  the  "primera  parte  del  saynete,"  in  the  company  of 
Antonio  de  Rueda.^  The  sainete  did  not  differ  in  any 
essential  particular  from  the  entremes.  It  was  slightly 
longer  and  commonly  contained  more  characters  than  the 
majority  of  the  entremeses,  but  it  was  of  the  same  general 
type."* 

Vera  Tassis,  in  his  "Life  of  Calderon"  prefixed  to  the 
first  volume  of  the  Comedias,  says  that  Calderon  wrote 
"cien  Saynetes  varies,"  but  none  has  apparently  been  pre- 
served.    Hartzenbusch^  has  published  a  number  of  en- 

^  The  word  saynete  occurs  in  a  ballad  printed  in  the  Romancero  General, 
ed.  of  1604,  fol.  497,  beginning: 

"Mancebito  de  buen  rostro 


No  se  come  ya  tan  rancio 
que  aun  las  de  catorze  enfadan, 
y  les  piden  por  saynete  [i.e.,  as  a  relish] 
'  la  Chacona,  y  ^arauanda." 

Doubtless  from  such  association  as  this  the  word  acquired  its  later  mean- 
ing. The  above  ballad  is  contained  in  the  "Parte  Trezena"  of  the 
Romancero,  which,  according  to  Wolf,  Studien,  p.  349,  is  merely  a  reprint 
of  the  second  part  of  the  Manojuclo  de  Romances  of  Gabriel  Laso  de  la 
Vega,  Zaragoza,  1603. 

*  See  above,  p.  264,  end  of  note.     '  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  304. 

*  Schack  says:  "Nichts  Anderes  als  soiche  Entremeses  unter  verandertem 
Titel  sind  denn  im  Grunde  auch  die  sogenannten  Sainetes,  die  seit  der 
Mitte  des  17,  Jahrhunderts  haufig  vorkommen.  Man  pflegt  ihren  Unter- 
schied  von  jenen  dahin  zu  bestimmen,  dasz  sie  mit  Musik  und  kleinem  Ballet 
begleitet  und  von  complicierter  Handlung  seien ;  allein  ohne  ausreichenden 
Grund,  denn  Gesang  und  Tanz  bildet  gewohnlich  auch  den  Schlusz  der 
Entremeses,  und  was  den  dramatischen  Plan  anlangt,  so  halt  das  Sainete 
es  hiermit  ebenso  nach  Belieben  wie  die  altere  Art  des  Zwischenspiels." 
{Geschichte  der  dramatischen  Ltteratur  und  Kunst  in  Spanien,  Bd.  II, 
p.  108.    See  also  Rouanet,  Intermedes  Espagnols  du  XVII^  Siecle,  p.  39.) 

■'  Comedias  de  Calderon,  Vol.  IV,  at  the  end. 


MOGIGANGAS  295 

tremeses,  two  mog'igangas,  and  two  jdcaras  entremesadas 
which  have  been  ascribed  to  Calderon,  but  their  author- 
ship is  doubtful.  It  is  probable  that  Vera  Tassis  applied 
the  term  then  most  current  to  the  entremeses  which  Calde- 
ron had  written,  for  toward  the  close  of  Calderon's  life 
the  sainete  became  very  popular.  Among  the  expenses 
for  the  Corpus  festival  at  Madrid  in  1675,  we  find  150 
ducados  (=  1650  reals)  paid  for  four  sainetes  written  by 
Don  Manuel  de  Leon  Marchante,  who  seems  to  have 
been  the  most  successful  writer  of  this  species  of  dramatic 
composition  at  that  time.^  He  continued  to  write  sainetes 
for  this  festival  till  the  death  of  Calderon  in  1681,  when, 
for  the  composition  of  two  sainetes  and  for  finishing  an 
auto  which  Calderon  had  left  unfinished,  he  received  1000 
reals  vellon.^  It  was  not  till  after  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  that  the  sainete  reached  the  height  of 
its  popularity  at  the  hands  of  Ramon  de  la  Cruz. 

The  mogiganga  (masquerade,  mummery)  "contains  a 
greater  number  of  episodic  personages  than  the  entremes; 
it  is  sometimes  intermingled  with  dances."^     As  it  be- 

^  Perez  Pastor,  Calderon  Documentos,  Vol.  I,  p.  342. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  372.  In  1656  Moreto  wrote  loas  and  sainetes  for  the  Corpus 
festival  at  Seville.  During  the  next  decade  Alonso  Martin  de  Braones 
was  a  well-known  writer  of  sainetes  and  mogigangas  in  the  same  city. 
He  wrote  the  entremes  entitled  Los  Organos,  which  has  been  ascribed  to 
Lope  de  Vega.     (Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  pp.  411,  439.) 

'  Rouanet,  /.  c,  p.  39.  In  Don  Quixote  (Part  II,  chap,  xi)  a  company  of 
players  is  met  upon  the  road,  one  of  whom,  we  are  told,  "venia  vestido 
de  boxiganga  con  muchos  cascabeles,"  etc.  A  boxiganga,  Rojas  tells  us, 
was  a  small  company  of  strolling  players,  who,  as  Clemencin  observes: 
"en  algunas  ocasiones  se  vestirian  6  disfrazarian  con  vestidos  ridiculos 
para  divertir  a  los  expectadores ;  esto  seria  vestir  de  boxiganga.  De  esta 
palabra  hubo  de  derivarse  la  de  mogiganga  [cf.  vimen — bimbre,  mimbre"], 
que  no  se  encuentra  entonces  y  si  despues  en  significacion  de  fiesta  en  que 
concurren  varias  personas  disfrazadas  con  trages  ridiculos."  Andres  del 
Castillo  entitled  the  six  short  novels  which  he  published  in  1641  La 
Mogiganga  del  Gusto  (The  Masquerade  of  Taste).  They  have  been 
republished  by  Sr.  Cotarelo  (Madrid,  1908).  Toward  the  close  of  Cal- 
deron's career  we  read  of  sainetes  and  mogigangas  as  regular  accompani- 
ments of  the  autos  at  Corpus.  Thus  in  1680  Don  Manuel  de  Leon 
Marchante  received  1600  reals  for  the  entremeses  and  mogigangas  at 
Corpus  in  Madrid,  and  in  1681  Francisco  de  la  Calle  was  paid  1500  reals 


\ 


296  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

longs  to  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  and  especially 
to  the  eighteenth  century,  it  falls  without  the  limits  of 
this  work.^ 

vellon  for  a  saynete  and  mogiganga.  (Perez  Pastor,  Calderon  Docu- 
mentos.  Vol.  I,  pp.  368,  372.) 

^The  earliest  use  of  mogiganga  in  its  present  sense,  that  has  come  to 
my  notice,  is  in  1659.— "Mande  V.  m.  dar  ...  a  Pedro  de  la  Rosa,  autor 
de  comedias,  por  si  y  su  compania  8400  reales  .  .  .  los  77CX)  en  que  se 
concertaron  los  dos  autos  que  se  an  de  hacer,  con  los  entremeses,  bayles  y 
mojigangas  ...  y  los  700  reales  para  el  vestuario  de  entremeses  y  moji- 
gangas. — 29  Mayo,  1659."  Marti  y  Monso,  Estudios  historico-artisticos, 
Zaragoza,  i902(?),  p.  567. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

The  representation  of  autos  sacramentales.  Description  of  the 
autos  at  Madrid.  The  carros.  Abuse  of  the  representation  of 
autos.  Protests  of  churchmen.  Sums  paid  for  the  representation 
of  autos.     Autos  in  the  theaters.     Great  expense  of  these  festivals. 

The  autos  sacramentales^  were  performed  at  the  instance 
of  the  municipalities  of  the  various  cities  and  towns  at 
the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi.  As  Ticknor  says,  they 
were  in  the  height  of  their  success  in  the  age  of  Lope  de 
Vega  and  in  that  immediately  following,  and  had  become 
an  important  part  of  the  religious  ceremonies  arranged 
for  the  solemn  sacramental  festival  to  which  they  were 
devoted,  not  only  in  Madrid,  but  throughout  Spain,  the 

*The  meaning  of  this  term  has  been  given  above  (Chapter  I).  This 
is  not  the  place  for  an  esthetic  appreciation  of  the  autos  sacramentales. 
For  this  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  works  of  Schack,  Ticknor,  Gonzalez 
Pedroso,  and  others.  Ticknor's  criticism  (Vol.  II,  p.  293,  note)  "that, 
at  all  periods,  from  first  to  last,  the  proper  autos  were  rude,  gross,  and 
indecent"  is  much  too  severe  and  too  sweeping.  There  are  doubtless 
passages  in  some  of  these  autos  which  seem  irreverent  to  a  Protestant, 
and  of  one,  La  Araucana,  by  Lope  de  Vega,  so  orthodox  a  Catholic 
as  Sr.  Menendez  y  Pelayo  has  remarked:  "Muy  robusta  debia  de  ser 
la  fe  del  pueblo  que  tolero  farsa  tan  irreverente  y  brutal,"  and  to  enjoy 
many  of  these  productions  they  must  be  viewed  "con  los  ojos  de  la  Fe," 
to  use  Lope's  own  words.  La  Puente  del  Mundo,  cited  by  Ticknor,  is 
hardly  a  fair  specimen  of  Lope's  autos.  It  is  an  absurdly  extravagant 
and  irreverent  production,  as  Menendez  y  Pelayo  admits,  and  is  nothing 
more  than  a  parody  a  lo  d'tvino  of  La  Puente  de  Mantible,  an  episode  of 
the  French  poem  Fierabras  (Academy's  edition  of  Lope  de  Vega,  Vol.  II, 
p.  Ixxvi).  What  finally  led  to  the  suppression  of  the  autos  sacramentales 
by  Charles  III.,  in  1765,  was,  in  all  probability,  not  because  of  the  autos 
themselves,  but  of  the  inevitable  accompaniments  of  the  auto:  the  proces- 
sion and  the  loas,  entremeses,  and  bayles.  These  frequently  degenerated 
into  a  spirit  of  irreverence  and  brutality  that  is  shocking.  We  need  only 
cite   as   an   instance   that   the   very   auto   just   mentioned.   La   Puente   del 

297 


298  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

theaters  being  closed  while  they  were  represented.^  From 
the  earliest  times  they  seem  to  have  been  accompanied  by 
dancing,  and  since  the  time  of  Lope  by  a  loa  and  an  entre- 
mes?  These  autos  were  acted  upon  movable  cars 
(carros)  which  passed  through  the  city  to  the  various 
stations  where  the  representation  was  to  take  place,  and 
hence  this  was  called  La  Fiesta  de  los  Carros.^  Preceding 
these  cars,  strange  figures  were  paraded  in  the  procession 
— the  Tarasca,^  a  sort  of  serpent  surmounted  by  a  figure 
portraying  the  "Woman  of  Babylon,"  and  huge  figures 
representing  Moorish  or  negro  giants,  called  Gigantones, 
etc.'' 

The   theatrical   managers   whose   companies   were   to 
represent  the  autos  were  selected  by  the  "comisarios"  ap- 

Mundo,  is  preceded  by  a  Loa  del  Escarraman,  of  which  Sr.  Menendez  y 
Pelayo  says:  "Incredible  as  it  may  seem,  this  is  a  paraphrase  a  to  divino 
of  the  famous  jdcara  of  Quevedo,  Carta  de  Escarraman  a  la  Mendez," 
Escarraman  having  been  a  notorious  bully  of  Seville  who  served  ten 
years  in  the  galleys  for  his  crimes. 

Juan  de  Mariana,  in  his  treatise  Contra  los  Juegos  publicos  (chap,  xii), 
says  that  the  Zarabanda,  the  most  indecent  of  these  bayles,  was  danced 
in  the  representations  of  the  autos  at  Corpus  Christi  and  also  in  the 
nunneries.     (See  above,  p.  71,  note  4.) 

*  Vol.  II,  p.  293. 

^  See  above,  pp.  67  ff.,  and  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  117. 
^  'In  1586  Jeronimo  Velazquez  represented  three  autos  at  Corpus,  in 
Madrid,  the  painter  Rui  Lopez  de  Avalos  agreeing  to  paint  three  triumphal 
cars,  "las  verjas  donde  se  ha  de  poner  el  S.  Sacramento  y  los  carros  donde 
se  han  de  representar  los  autos  de  este  ano."  Perez  Pastor,  Bulletin  His- 
panique,  1906,  p.  366.     See  also  below,  p.  310. 

'Benavente  describes  it  as  half  serpent  and  half  woman: 

"La  tarasca, 
Que  ya  sale  por  el  Corpus, 
Medio  sierpe  y  medio  dama." 

{Entremeses,  etc..  Vol.  I,  p.  13?.) 
See  Covarrubias,  Tesoro,  ad  verb. 

Tor  a  description  of  this  procession,  see  Schack,  Vol.  II,  pp.  128,  129, 
and  Ticknor,  Vol.  II,  pp.  293-295.  In  the  succeeding  chapter  will  be 
found  the  accounts  of  eye-witnesses.  Ticknor  describes  the  procession  as  a 
"sort  of  rude  mumming,  which  certainly  had  nothing  grave  about  it,"  in 
which  we  quite  agree,  and  we  shall  see  that  it  finally  degenerated  into 
such  license  that  it  called  forth  the  earnest  protests  of  churchmen. 


AUTOS  SACRAMENTALES  299 

pointed  by  the  city  for  tiiat  purpose,  who  generally  in- 
cluded the  "regidores"  and  "corregidor"  of  the  city,^  and 
who,  it  seems,  had  to  be  approved  by  the  ordinary.^ 

The  earliest  autos  sacramefitales  performed  in  Madrid, 
of  which  we  have  any  detailed  description  (so  far  as  I 
am  aware),  were  those  represented  in  1574  by  the  com- 
pany of  Jeronimo  Velazquez.  At  this  time  and  for  some 
years  thereafter,  three  autos  were  represented  each  year 
at  Madrid.  In  1587  there  were  three  autores  de  come- 
dias:  Nicolas  de  los  Rios,  Miguel  Ramirez,  and  Juan  de 
Alcozer,  each  of  whom  represented  an  auto  at  the  Corpus 
festival  in  Madrid.^  In  1592  four  autos  were  repre- 
sented, two  {^Joh  and  Santa  Catalina)  by  the  company  of 
Caspar  de  Porres,  and  two  (titles  not  given)  by  Rodrigo 
de  Saavedra.^ 

There  is  recorded  an  obligation  dated  March  3,  1574, 
by  Jeronimo  Velazquez,  to  represent  at  the  festival  of 
the  Holy  Sacrament  of  that  year  at  Madrid  three  autos: 
La  Pesca  de  San  Pedro,  La  Vendimia  celestial,  and  El 
Rey  Baltasar  quando  en  sus  Convites  profano  los  Vasos 
del  Templo,  and  to  provide  all  the  personages  and 
costumes  and  all  other  things  necessary  for  the  said 
representations,  "and  he  shall  take  part  in  the  said  repre- 
sentations himself  and  shall  provide  the  other  necessary 
persons;  the  city  to  furnish  him  with  three  cars  {carros)^ 
constructed  with  all  the  necessary  devices  and  artifices, 
without  the  said  Jeronimo  Velazquez  providing  anything 
concerning  the  preparation  and  machinery  of  the  said 
cars,  he  only  to  furnish  the  persons  and  costumes,  and 
to  provide  people  to  move  the  said  cars  from  place  to 
place.  The  city  is  to  pay  him  130  ducats,  besides  20  reals 
for  the  persons  who  move  each  car,  i.e.,  60  reals  in  all. 
.  .   .  He  is  to  represent  only  on  the  day  of  Corpus  along 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nue-vos  Datos,  pp.  210,  216. 

'Ibid.,  p.  117.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  18.  *  Ibid.,  p.  29. 


300  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

the  route  of  the  procession  and  afterward  where  the 
"comisarios"  may  order."  ^ 

The  autor  de  comedias  thus  appointed  to  represent  the 
autos  was  obliged  to  give  a  trial  performance  before  the 
"comisarios,"  generally  twenty  days  before  the  festival, 
and  the  "comisarios"  always  reserved  the  right  of  insisting 
upon  the  appearance  of  such  players  as  they  thought  espe- 
cially desirable  and  obliging  the  autor  to  hire  players  for 
this  purpose.  Thus  in  1585,  when  Caspar  de  Porres  was 
to  represent  the  three  autos  in  Madrid,  the  "comisarios" 
agreed  to  furnish  him  with  the  three  cars  provided  with 
invenciones,  etc.,  in  such  manner  as  the  said  Porres  may 
require,  but  "he  is  to  provide  the  personages  and  figures 
which  are  to  represent  in  the  said  autos  with  new  cos- 
tumes, and  if  necessary  to  provide  another  simple  [a  char- 
acter which  afterward  developed  into  the  ^raao^o]  besides 
the  one  whom  he  has  in  his  company,  and  he  must  give  a 
trial  performance  of  the  said  autos  twenty  days  before 
the  said  festival,  for  all  of  which  he  is  to  receive  400 
ducats.  .  .  .  And  besides  this  he  is  to  receive  a  license 
from  the  Council  to  represent  two  days  in  each  week  (not 
counting  feast-days)  from  Easter  (Pascua  de  Resurrec- 
cion)  till  Corpus  Christi,  and  no  other  autor  de  comedias, 
Spaniard  or  foreigner,  shall  be  permitted  to  represent  in 
Madrid  during  the  said  time."^  Moreover,  the  "comisa- 
rios" were  to  be  furnished  with  a  list  of  the  players  in  the 
company,  and  they  could  compel  any  player  whom  they 
desired  to  be  brought  from  wherever  he  might  be,  to  take 
part  in  the  autos,  and  this  was  to  be  done  at  the  expense 
of  the  manager  of  the  company.^     Frequently  a  player 

'Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  pp.  333,  334.  ^ Ibid.,  pp.  335,  336. 

■■"En  la  villa  de  Madrid  a  quince  dias  del  roes  de  Marzo  de  mil  y 
seiscientos  y  veinte  y  nueve  anos,  los  senores  Licenciado  Melchor  de 
Molina,  del  Consejo  y  Camara  de  su  Magestad,  D.  Francisco  de  Brizuela 
y  Cardenas,  Corregidor  de  la  dicha  villa,  Francisco  Enriquez  de  Villa- 
corte  y  Don  Francisco  de  Sardeneta  y  Mendoza,  regidores  de  la  dicha  villa 
y  comisarios  para  las  fiestas  del  Santisimo  Sacramento  de  este  ano. — 
Acordaron  que  los  autos  que  se  han  de  hacer  para  el  dicho  dia  se  den  a 


AUTOS  IN  1592  301 

bound  himself  not  to  leave  Madrid,  but  to  "remain  in 
his  house  as  a  prison,  so  that  he  may  take  part  in  the 
Corpus  festival."^ 

A  minute  description  of  the  autos  entitled  Job  and 
Santa  Catalina,  represented  by  the  company  of  Caspar 
de  Porres  at  Madrid  in  1592,  is  given  by  Perez  Pastor. 
The  costumes  to  be  worn  are  described  in  great  detail: 
Job  is  to  wear  a  long  coat  of  purple  damask  and  a  hat 
of  taffeta,  and  buskins;  God  the  Father  appears  in  a 
tunic  of  sateen  or  taffeta  of  gold  and  purple,  with  a 
cloak  of  white  taffeta,  etc. ;  and  in  the  auto  of  Santa 
Catalina  there  are  to  be  three  gallants  dressed  in  the 
Roman  fashion,  with  coats  of  mail,  etc.  It  is  agreed 
that  the  rehearsal  is  to  be  given  twenty  days  before 
Corpus,  and  each  auto  is  to  have  an  entremes;  the  city  to 
furnish  the  cars,  prepared  and  painted  at  its  own  cost, 
with  all  the  inventions  necessary  for  the  representation, 
and  the  wheels  greased  with  lard  or  tallow,  so  that  the 
cars  can  be  moved  from  place  to  place,  Porres  received 
600  ducats  for  the  representation,  and  each  player  was 
furnished  with  a  candle. ^ 

Bartolome  Romero  y  Roque  de  Figueroa,  autores  de  comedias,  a  cada  uno 
los  dos,  obligandose  y  dando  fianzas  de  que  haran  los  dichos  autos  en  la 
forma  acostumbrada  y  con  que  para  la  Pascua  de  Resurreccion,  antes  6 
despues,  quando  se  les  mandare,  hayan  de  dar  quenta  de  sus  companias, 
y  si  para  hacer  las  dichas  fiestas  les  faltare  6  paresciere  a  los  dichos 
senores  son  necesarios  algunos  personajes,  hombres  6  mugeres,  hayan  de 
recibir  los  que  se  les  ordenare,  trayendolos  a  su  costa  de  qualesquier  partes 
donde  estuvieren,  dandoles  despachos  para  ello,  y  lo  senaiaron."  {Ibid., 
p.  2i6.)  Three  years  before  this,  at  the  Corpus  festival  of  1626,  Andres 
de  la  Vega,  an  autor  de  comedias,  was  required  to  provide  another 
gracioso  in  the  place  of  the  one  then  in  his  company,  and  Cristobal  de 
Avendano,  the  other  autor  representing  the  festival,  had  to  substitute 
another  actress.     {Ibid.,  p.  210.) 

^  In  1621  Bartolome  de  Robles  and  Micaela  Lopez,  his  wife,  were  en- 
gaged to  act  in  the  autos  of  Corpus  of  that  year  in  Madrid,  and  bound 
themselves  not  to  leave  the  city  "dejando  el  primero  su  casa  por  carcel, 
para  trabajar  ambos  durante  las  fiestas  del  Corpus  en  la  corte,"     {Ibid., 

p.  189-) 

"  The  importance  of  this  document  may  justify  its  insertion  here  in  full : 
"2  Marzo  1592.  Obligacion  de  Caspar  de  Porres  para  hacer  dos  autos. 
En  la  villa  de  Madrid  a  dos  dias  del  mes  de  Marzo  de  mil  y  quinientos  y 


302  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Of  these  autos  sacramentales  four  were  represented 
annually  at  Madrid,  beginning  with  this  year  (1592), 
as  nearly  as  we  can  determine;  prior  to  this,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  number  varied.  Two  autores  de  comedias  were 
chosen  by  the  "comisarios,"  each  company  representing  two 
autos,  which  took  place  at  Corpus  Christi  on  the  evenings 
of  Thursday  and  Friday,  and  for  which  each  autor  (dur- 

noventa  y  dos  anos  por  ante  mi  el  escribano  publico  e  testigos  de  yuso 
escritos  parecieron  presentes  Caspar  de  Porres,  autor  de  comedias,  estante 
en  esta  corte  como  principal  deudor  y  obligado,  y  Geronimo  Velazquez 
desta  villa  de  Madrid  como  su  fiador  y  principal  pagador,  y  ambos  a 
dos  juntamente  y  de  mancomun.  .  .  .  Otorgaron  que  se  obligaban  y  obli- 
garon  que  el  dicho  Caspar  de  Porres  hara  para  la  fiesta  del  Santisimo 
Sacramento  deste  presente  ano  de  noventa  y  dos,  dos  autos,  el  uno  de 
Job  en  que  entren  su  figura  con  un  gaban  de  damasco  morado  y  un 
sombrero  de  tafetan  y  sus  borceguies,  quatro  hijos  con  quatro  baqueros  de 
damasco  y  brocatel  con  sus  mantos  de  colores  con  sus  tocados  y  borceguies 
y  un  criado  con  una  tunicela  de  damasco  con  su  tocado,  y  los  demas 
sirvientes  que  son  tres  pastores  con  sus  pellicos  de  damasco  de  colores, 
caperugas  de  lo  mismo  y  qaragiielles  y  camisas  de  caniqui  blancas;  tres 
amigos  con  tres  tunicelas  de  damasco  y  sus  mantos  de  tafetan  y  tocados 
y  borceguies,  y  quatro  virtudes  con  quatro  tunicelas  de  tafetan  con  cotas  y 
faldones  y  sus  tocados  y  calgadillas;  su  muger  de  Job  con  un  mongil  a  lo 
judaico  de  raso  leonado  con  sus  tocas,  el  demonio  principal  con  una 
tunicela  de  tafetan  negro,  cota,  faldin  y  calgadilla,  y  los  otros  tres  de- 
monios  con  tres  ropas  largas  muy  bien  pintadas  de  bocas,  y  una  figura  de 
Dios  Padre  con  una  tunicela  de  raso  o  tafetan  que  tenga  oro  y  morado 
y  una  capa  de  tafetan  bianco,  y  una  figura  de  un  angel  como  se  suele 
vestir:  y  otro  auto  de  Santa  Catalina,  en  que  haya  tres  galanes  vestidos  a 
lo  romano  con  cotas  y  faldones  y  tocados  con  monteras  de  terciopelo  y  raso 
con  sus  mantos  y  caigadillas  y  borceguies:  la  figura  de  Catalina  con  un 
vestido  a  lo  romano  corto  de  tela  y  tocado  a  lo  romano;  la  criada  tambien 
a  lo  romano  de  damasco  o  de  raso;  dos  senadores  con  dos  tunicelas  de 
damasco  y  encima  dos  ropas  de  terciopelo  de  colores  con  sus  tocados  a  lo 
romano  o  gorras ;  otras  dos  con  dos  baqueros  y  mantos  y  tocados  y  borce- 
guies; y  una  figura  de  Santo  Domingo  y  su  companero  con  sus  habitos 
acostumbrados  de  estamena ;  una  figura  de  Christo  con  un  sayo  baquero 
bordado  con  unas  cifras  que  declaren  la  figura,  y  el  tocado  ni  mas  ni 
menos,  y  un  angel  en  habito  de  paxe  de  la  misma  manera  que  saliere  el 
christo  salvo  que  no  ha  de  Uevar  bordado  el  baquero. — Una  figura  del 
niiio  Jesus  con  su  tunicela  de  tafetan  o  raso  que  tenga  oro  con  las  insignias 
de  la  pasion,  y  la  misma  figura  de  Christo  ha  de  salir  otra  vez  de  resur- 
reccion  de  la  forma  que  se  pinta,  y  una  figura  de  la  madre  de  Dios  como 
se  pinta  la  imagen  del  rosario  vestida  de  damasco:  los  quales  dichos  autos 
vestidos  los  dichos  personajes  como  esta  dicho  ha  de  ser  a  contento  y 
satisfaccion  del  Senor  Licenciado  Alonso  Nunez  de  Bohorques  del  Consejo 
de  su  magestad  y  comisario  de  las  cosas  de  esta  villa  y  de  los  senores 
corregidor  y  comisarios   por  elia   nombrados  y  ha   de   dar   las  muestras 


THE  REPRESENTATION  OF  AUTOS    303 

ing  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  at  least)  re- 
ceived 600  ducats.^ 

It  appears  that  at  first  (in  Madrid,  at  all  events)  the 
autos  were  represented  in  the  morning,  and  that  a  change 
was  made  by  the  Council  in  1586,  which  commanded  that 
the  performances  at  the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi  be  held 
in  the  afternoon.  On  April  17,  1587,  the  President  of 
the  Council  was,  however,  petitioned  to  continue  the  order 
of  the  preceding  year,  "as  experience  had  shown  how 
much  more  advantageous  this  was,  and  with  how  much 
greater  solemnity  the  procession  and  the  divine  offices 
were  conducted,  which  took  place  on  that  day."  On  May 
25,  1587,  however,  it  was  resolved  that  the  representation 

veinte  dias  antes  de  la  dicha  fiesta  o  el  dia  que  el  dicho  senor  comisario 
les  ordenare  y  en  cada  auto  ha  de  hacer  un  entremes  a  contento  de  los 
dichos  senores  y  ha  de  representar  el  dicho  dia  del  sacramento  en  la  parte 
y  lugar  que  los  senores  del  Consejo  les  ordenaren  y  mandaren  ora  sea  por 
la  manana  ora  por  la  tarde,  y  de  alii  ha  de  ir  k  las  demas  partes  y 
lugares  donde  el  dicho  senor  comisario  le  ordenare  por  sus  autos  sin  salir 
del  ambitu  de  la  procesion  y  el  viernes  siguiente  ha  de  representar  a  esta 
villa  en  la  plaza  de  San  Salvador  y  de  alii  adonde  le  mandare  el  dicho 
senor  comisario,  y  le  ha  de  dar  esta  villa  los  carros  aderezados  y  pintados 
a  costa  della  con  las  invenciones  que  fueren  necesarias  para  las  dichas 
representaciones  y  untados  con  sebo  o  manteca  para  que  puedan  andar 
dicho  dia  por  las  partes  que  han  de  andar  y  de  alli  los  ha  de  hacer  sacar 
el  dicho  Caspar  de  Porres  y  traerlos  por  las  partes  y  lugares  que  se  le 
ordenare  y  mandare  y  volvellos  a  la  dicha  obreria  el  viernes  en  la  noche 
y  entregallos  a  Pedro  de  la  Puente  obrero  della,  y  demas  desto  le  ha  de 
dar  la  dicha  villa  seiscientos  ducados  en  dineros  pagados  los  dos  partes 
luego  y  la  otra  tercia  parte  la  mitad  el  dia  que  diere  la  muestra  y  la 
otra  mitad  acabada  la  dicha  fiesta,  ye  le  han  de  dar  una  vela  para  cada 
uno  de  los  representantes  que  hicieren  las  dichas  representaciones,  y 
demas  desto  han  de  representar  en  esta  corte  el  dicho  Caspar  de  Porres  y 
Rodrigo  de  Saavedra  que  tiene  los  otros  dos  carros,  desde  el  lunes  de 
Casimodo  hasta  el  dicho  dia  del  Sacramento  sin  que  otro  ningun  autor 
pueda  representar,  y  se  ha  de  procurar  licencia  del  Consejo  para  que 
representen  desde  el  segundo  dia  de  Pascua  de  Resurreccion  hasta  el 
domingo  de  Casimodo,  y  se  obligaron  de  hacer  y  que  haran  la  dicha  fiesta 
de  la  manera  que  dicha  es  sin  que  haya  falta  alguna  y  si  alguna  hubiere 
que  a  su  costa  se  pueda  hacer  y  haga  y  se  busquen  vestidos  y  personas  que 
hagan  las  dichas  figuras,  y  por  lo  que  costare  se  les  pueda  executar  y 
execute  por  solo  el  juramento  de  qualquiera  de  los  dichos  senores  comisa- 
rios  de  la  dicha  villa  {siguen  las  seguridades) ."  (Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos 
Datos,  pp.  29-31.) 
^  See  above,  p.  200. 


304  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

on  Friday  should  take  place  before  the  Ayuntamiento  of 
the  city  in  the  morning,  beginning  at  seven  o'clock.*  In 
1600,  when  the  autos  of  Madrid  were  presented  by  the 
companies  of  Melchor  de  Villalba  and  Gabriel  de  la 
Torre,  the  performance  on  Thursday  took  place  in 
the  afternoon,  first  before  the  Council,  and  afterward 
"wherever  they  may  be  ordered  to  perform."^  Begin- 
ning on  the  afternoon  of  Corpus  Christi,  the  autos  con- 
tinued through  the  whole  of  the  following  day  (Friday). 
In  1609,  when  Alonso  de  Heredia  represented  the  autos 
in  Madrid,  he  was  required  to  perform  them  until  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  With  each  auto  an  entremes 
was  to  be  given, ^  and  in  161 8,  when  the  autos  were 
presented  by  Baltasar  Pinedo  and  Hernan  Sanchez  de 
Vargas,  it  was  agreed  that  "each  one  of  the  autores 
was  to  produce  two  autos  and  to  have  them  composed 
at  his  own  cost  and  approved  by  the  ordinary,  fur- 
nishing also  with  each  auto  an  entremes,  and  presenting 
them  with  new  costumes."  They  were  to  give  a  re- 
hearsal ten  days  before  Corpus,   and  on  that  day  they 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  19. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  52.  It  appears  that  at  the  Corpus  festival  in  Seville  in  158a 
no  less  than  seven  autos  were  represented:  El  Testamento  del  Senor  by  the 
company  of  Alonso  de  Capilla;  El  Convite  que  hizo  el  Rey  Salomon  a  la 
Reina  Saba  by  Juan  Bautista ;  El  Triunfo  de  la  Verdad  by  Diego  Pineda; 
Santa  Felicitas  y  otros  Mdrtires  by  Marcos  de  Cardenal;  La  Muerte 
de  Orias  y  Casamiento  de  David  con  Bethsabee  by  Tomas  Gutierrez; 
Cuando  Nuestra  Senora  solid  de  Egipto  para  Galilea  by  the  com- 
pany of  Juan  Gonzalez;  and  Cosme  de  Oviedo  represented  El  Estado 
del  H ombre  desde  su  Jwventud  hasta  que  triunfa  la  Muerte.  (Sanchez- 
Arjona,  Anales,  p.  68.)  In  1585  five  autos  were  represented:  two  by 
Pedro  de  Saldana,  two  by  Alonso  de  Cisneros,  and  one  by  Tomas  Gutie- 
rrez. {Ibid.,  p.  74.)  In  general,  however,  four  autos  were  represented 
here  also  each  year.  In  1591  there  appeared  in  the  representation  at 
Corpus,  in  addition  to  the  autos,  a  "carro  de  apariencias,"  brought  out  by 
Juan  Bautista  de  Aguilar,  on  which  Juan  Agustin  de  Torres  and  Antonio 
Veloco  "performed  sleight-of-hand  tricks  with  living  birds,  in  the  manner 
of  the  Italians,"  "y  con  una  armada  de  galeras  y  otras  piezas  de  fuego 
muy  curiosas,  con  su  musica  y  romances  y  letras  a  lo  divino  con  un  en- 
tremes gracioso."  {Ibid.,  p.  82.)  For  four  autos  represented  by  Diego 
de  Santander  in  1596,  he  received  1200  ducats.     {Ibid.,  p.  94.) 

*  Ibid.,  p.  112. 


THE  REPRESENTATION  OF  AUTOS    305 

were  to  represent  from  noon  until  ten  o'clock  at  night, 
and  on  Friday  from  ten  in  the  morning  till  midnight,  in 
such  places  as  should  be  assigned  to  them.  In  this  case, 
besides  providing  the  cars  (carros)  and  paying  to  the 
autores  600  ducats  each,  the  city  agreed  to  furnish  a  wax 
candle  of  half  a  pound  to  each  actor  and  two  wax  candles 
of  one  pound  each  to  the  autor  and  autora}  In  1621  it 
was  stipulated  that  Pedro  de  Valdes,  who  presented  two 
of  the  autos,  "is  to  represent  on  Corpus  day  from  two 
in  the  afternoon  till  midnight,  and  on  Friday  from  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning  until  midnight,  and  if  he  repre- 
sent on  Saturday,  he  is  to  receive  the  customary  gra- 
tuity." Besides,  his  company  and  that  of  Cristobal  de 
Avendaiio  (who  presented  the  other  two  autos)  were  to 
have  the  exclusive  right  of  performing  in  the  theaters  of 
Madrid  from  the  date  of  granting  the  license  until  Corpus 
Christ!.^ 

As  already  stated,  the  Corpus  Christi  celebration  al- 
ways began  with  a  procession  through  the  streets  of  the 
city,  and  the  stopping-places  where  the  autos  were  to  be 
represented  were  designated  by  the  civic  authorities,  who 
provided  the  carros.  In  Seville,  in  1609,  the  autos  were 
first  to  be  represented  "before  the  Most  Holy  Sacra- 
ment, and  afterward,  during  the  whole  of  that  day  until 
the  bell  for  evening  prayers  rings,  going  through  the 
streets  along  which  the  procession  passes,  and  if  any  car 
should  break  down,  the  actors  and  all  the  paraphernalia 
for  the  representation  are  to  wait  on  the  spot  for  two 
hours  until  the  car  be  repaired,"  and  the  places  for  repre- 
sentation are  designated  "in  case  a  car  cannot  proceed 
because  one  in  front  of  it  be  broken  down,"  ^     Besides  the 

^  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  i66.  'Ibid.,  p.  i88. 

*"Si  en  algun  carro  se  quebrase  alguna  rueda  viniendo  detras  otro 
carro  que  haya  menester  pasar  adelante,  si  se  quebrase  en  la  calle  de 
Genova,  le  hayan  de  sacar  a  la  plaza  de  San  Francisco;  y  si  en  la  calle 
de  la  Sierpe,  a  la  entrada  de  lo  ancho  de  la  carcel  6  a  la  dicha  plaza  de 
San  Francisco;  y  si  fuere  a  los  Sileros,  le  saquen  a  la  plazuela  que  esta 


3o6  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

representations  which  were  to  be  given  on  the  day  of 
Corpus,  another  was  to  be  given  in  the  Plaza  de  San 
Francisco  on  the  following  Monday,  and  it  was  expressly 
provided  that  no  player  was  to  pass  from  one  car  to 
another,  but  that  each  car  be  furnished  with  all  necessary 
actors.  Each  auto  had  to  be  accompanied  by  a  new  en- 
tremes,  and  a  rehearsal  had  to  be  given  thirty  days  before 
Corpus. 

In  addition  to  the  600  ducats  received  by  each  autor 
(sometimes  this  sum  was  350  ducats  for  each  auto,  as  in 
Seville  in  1609)  for  his  two  autos,  a  prize  of  100  ducats 
was  generally  awarded  by  the  city  to  the  autor  de  come- 
dias  whose  company  gave  the  best  representations  with 
the  finest  costumes,  and  sometimes  various  sums  were 
awarded  to  individual  players. 

It  was  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  manager  of  a 
company  to  be  selected  to  represent  the  autos  in  Madrid, 
for  besides  the  large  sum  received  therefor,  he  and  the 
other  manager  so  selected  were  also  granted  the  sole  and 
exclusive  privilege  of  representing  comedias  in  the 
Madrid  theaters  from  the  day  on  which  he  received  the 
license  (generally  Easter)  until  Corpus  Christi.^  When 
the  court  was  in  Madrid  it  was  generally  necessary  to 
^give  additional  representations  of  the  autos  on  the  fol- 
lowing Saturday,  for  which  a  gratuity  was  always  received 
by  the  manager  of  the  company.^  It  was  an  invariable 
condition  that  the  autos  represented  in  Madrid  and  Seville 
should  be  new  and  should  never  have  been  seen  before.' 
The  remuneration  received  by  poets  for  writing  autos 
doubtless  varied,  as  did  their  honorarium  for  comedias, 
but,  being  a  shorter  composition,  the  amount  paid  was 

f  rente  de  la  botica ;  y  si  en  la  calle  de  Carpinteros,  a  la  plazuela  de  San 
Salvador,  para  que  se  aderecen  y  prosigan  la  representacion."  (Sanchez- 
Arjona,  Anales,  p.  137.) 

'Perez  Pastor,  Nuei'os  Daios,  pp.  49,  52,  123,  132,  162,  i88  et  passim. 

^  Ibid.,  pp.  112,  123,  129  et  passim. 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  pp.  125,  136,  215. 


AUTOS  BY  LOPE  DE  VEGA  307 

much  less  than  for  a  comedia.  In  i6ii  Lope  de  Vega, 
then  at  the  height  of  his  popularity,  received  1200  reals 
for  four  autos  represented  at  the  Corpus  festival  of  that 
year  in  Seville.^  In  161 8  Bartolome  de  Enciso  received 
200  reals  for  an  auto  entitled  La  Montanesa,  while  Jusepa 

'Three  years  before,  in  1608,  Lope  had  also  written  the  four  autos  which 
were  represented  at  Madrid  in  that  year:  El  Adulterio  de  la  Esposa  and 
El  Caballero  del  Fenix,  performed  by  the  company  of  Juan  de  Morales 
Medrano,  and  Los  Casamientos  de  Joseph  and  La  Ninez  de  Crista,  by  the 
company  of  Alonso  Riquelme.  The  scenic  appliances  of  the  carros  are 
thus  described: 

"Para  el  auto  del  Adulterio  de  la  Esposa: 

— En  el  medio  carro  en  lo  alto  ha  de  haber  una  nube  6  globo  que  se  abra 
en  quartos  a  modo  de  azucena  que  sea  bastante  para  que  quepan  tres  per- 
sonas  dentro:  ha  de  estar  pintado  de  azul  y  estrellas,  en  este  medio  carro 
ha  de  haber  pintados  algunos  pesos  y  llamas  de  fuego  porque  es  el  carro 
de  la  Justicia  divina. 

— En  el  otro  medio  carro  ha  de  haber  en  lo  alto  un  trono  a  modo  de 
capilla  6  yglesia,  porque  aqui  se  ha  de  representar  la  Iglesia;  ha  de  haber 
un  dragon  de  siete  cabezas,  si  pudiere  ser,  echando  fuego  por  las  bocas, 
y  si  no  pudiere  ser  vivo,  sea  pintado:  este  capilla  ha  de  ser  bastante  para 
que  en  ella  este  una  muger  sobre  este  dragon. 

— En  este  medio  carro  ha  de  haber  dos  bofetones  que  salgan  con  dos 
hombres  hasta  la  mitad  de  los  carros  y  los  vuelvan  arriba 

— Ha  de  haber  unas  plomadas  para  subir  una  muger  arriba.  Dira  el 
modo  de  esta  invencion  Jaraba,  cobrador  de  la  comedia. 

"Para  el  auto  del  Caballero  del  Fenix: 

— En  el  medio  carro  scan  quatro  bastidores  sobre  la  casa,  que  se  abran 
en  la  f rente  del  carro:  este  una  mesa  con  asiento  y  sea  todo  lo  alto  un 
guerto  con  una  pena  sobre  que  pueda  estar  un  Angel. 

— El  otro  medio  carro  sea  un  Globo  pintado  de  mar  y  tierra  por  defuera 
y  por  dentro  de  tinieblas,  con  un  sol  y  luna  eclisados  y  sangrientos,  una 
cruz  grande  en  medio  sobre  un  calvario,  bastante  a  que  este  echada  en  el 
una  figura. 

"Para  el  auto  de  Los  Casamientos  de  Joseph: 

— El  medio  carro  sea  un  Palacio  con  un  corredor  y  un  altar  con  unos 
ydolos:  sea  el  Palacio  el  mas  rico  que  sea  posible,  y  si  puede  estar  en 
medio  de  quatro  corredores  la  capilla  del  altar  que  dije,  sera  mejor. 

— El  otro  medio  carro  tenga  un  cielo  sobre  la  casa  con  una  subida  por 
donde  pueda  descender  del  y  volver  a  el  una  figura.  Si  hubiere  pintura 
por  defuera  sea  el  Carro  de  Pharaon  y  Joseph  en  el  vestido  de  Rey. 
Haya  una  mesa  con  invencion  para  que  los  platos  que  esten  en  ella  se 
desaparezcan  a  la  vista. 

"Para  el  auto  de  La  Ninez  de  Xpo: 

— En  el  medio  carro  sea  un  templo  con  asientos  y  una  silla  en  medio: 
hanle  de  cubrir  quatro  bastidores  que  se  caygan  i  su  tiempo. 

— £1  otro  medio  carro  ha  de  ser  un  jardin  y  una  palma  en  medio  del  con 


3o8  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Vaca  and  her  daughter  Mariana  de  Morales  were  paid  a 
gratuity  of  300  reals  "por  lo  bien  que  en  el  trabajaron,"* 
and  in  the  same  year  Salustio  del  Poyo  received  200  reals 
for  Las  Fuerzas  de  Sanson.^ 

No  expense  seems  to  have  been  spared  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  autos,  which  were  presented  with  a  splendor 
of  decoration  and  costume  that  must  have  greatly  pleased 
the  populacho,  especially  as  these  representations,  being 
on  the  streets  and  in  the  public  squares,  were  free  to  all. 

For  the  representation  of  El  Naufragio  de  Jonas  pro- 
feta,  at  Plasencia  in  1578,  a  large  stage  was  built  in  the 
square  of  the  city,  and  upon  it  a  tank,  was  constructed  sixty 

todos  los  pasos  de  la  Pasion  por  razlmos  6  en  cada  razimo  de  ditiles  el 
suyo:  tenga  el  tronco  como  escalera  por  que  se  pueda  subir,  y  sea  rauy  aha: 
este  una  cabana  paxiza  a  un  lado  y  una  fuente.  Pongase  cuydado  en  este 
porque  es  notable.  Si  hubiere  pintura  por  de  fucra,  sea  toda  de  ninos 
angelitos,  ocupados  en  diversos  juegos  de  muchachos. 

"Pintura  de  los  carros  para  la  fiesta  del  Santisimo  Sacramento  deste  ano 

de  1608. 

"Condiciones  de  la  pintura  de  los  carros: 

— Hanse  de  pintar  los  carros  a  content©  del  senor  Corregidor  y  comisa- 
rios,  etc. 

— Hanse  de  pintar  ocho  nnedios  carros  conforme  los  autos  lo  requieren 
dellos  de  arquitectura  bien  ordenada  y  compuesta  y  colorida  de  colorcs 
finos  y  a  cada  arquitectura  de  carro  conforme  la  historia  del  auto  lo  re- 
quiere. 
^  — Hanse  de  pintar  todas  las  apariencias  dentro  y  fuera  de  los  carros  y 
todo  lo  que  se  hubiere  de  hacer  demis  de  lo  dicho  conforme  las  memorias 
que  tienen  dadas  Riquelme  y  Morales,  autores. 

— Han  de  ir  las  puertas  de  los  carros  pintadas  conforme  los  carros  lo 
requieren,  cada  una  diferente  de  la  otra,  con  sus  peinazos  y  cruzeros  con- 
trahechas  al  natural,  y  las  ventanas  ban  de  ir  contrahechas  a  ventanas 
naturales,  unas.  diferentes  de  otras. 

— Han  de  ir  los  rodapies  de  los  carros  pintados  cada  uno  conforme  al 
carro  que  ha  de  ir  puesto  y  que  sea  conforme  a  lo  de  arriba. 

— Hanse  de  dorar  todos  los  remates  de  los  carros  y  pintar  los  balustres 
y  verjuelas  de  azul  fino,  y  dorar  los  botoncillos  dellas. 

— Han  de  ir  enlosados  de  pintura  y  enladrillados  con  sus  colores  los 
suelos  de  los  carros  donde  se  han  de  representar  altos  y  baxos,  y  los  dos 
medios  carros  que  se  anaden  se  ha  de  hacer  lo  mismo. 

— Hase  de  dar  de  azul  la  reja  donde  se  pone  la  Custodia  en  la  Plaza 
de  Santa  Maria  y  dorar  las  manzanas  della,"  etc.  (Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos 
Datos,  pp.  106-109.) 

'  Sanchez-Arjona,  El  Teatro  en  Sevilla,  Madrid,  1887,  p.  303. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  293. 


LOS  MEDIOS  CARROS  309 

feet  long  and  twenty  feet  wide,  which  was  filled  with 
water,  upon  which  a  ship  floated,  with  its  sails  and  tackle, 
large  enough  to  hold  a  number  of  sailors  and  passengers.^ 

At  an  early  period,  however,  the  autos,  besides  being 
performed  in  the  public  squares,  were  also  represented 
at  the  theaters.  On  June  22,  1601,  we  find  that  Caspar 
de  Porres  presented  autos  in  one  of  the  theaters  of 
Madrid,  and  on  the  next  two  following  days  we  read: 
"Autos  a  los  semaneros  en  el  teatro."^  Besides,  autos 
were  frequently  represented  privately  before  the  King,  as 
in  June,  1609,  when  Domingo  Balbin  and  Alonso  de 
Heredia  presented  the  autos  of  that  year  before  Philip 
the  Third  in  the  Escurial.^ 

The  cars  were  beautifully  painted  and  were  frequently 
of  great  magnificence;  in  161 1  the  amount  paid  for  paint- 
ing them  was  1350  reals.^ 

The  number  of  cars  for  the  autos  seems  to  have  varied: 
to  represent  four  autos,  eight  med'tos  carros  were  re- 
quired, as  we  have  seen  above,  in  the  case  of  the  autos  of 
1608.  In  1 61 9  we  read  of  "eight  medios  carros  on  which 
the  representation  is  to  be  given,  to  be  handsomely 
painted,  and  .  .  .  likewise  the  four  medios  carrillos 
which  are  put  in  between  for  the  representations,"."^  and 

*  "En  las  fiestas  del  dia  de  Corpus  Christi  de  aquel  ano  se  hizo  en 
medio  de  la  plaza  un  gran  tablado,  que  parecia  hecho  para  muchos 
dias,  y  en  lo  alto  un  mar  de  sesenta  pies  de  longitud  y  veinte  de  lati- 
tud,  con  abundancia  de  agua  que  con  mucho  artiiicio  habian  hecho 
subir  alii.  En  el  mar  estaba  una  muy  lucida  nave,  con  sus  velas  y  jarcias, 
de  tanta  grandeza  que  estaban  dentro  muchos  marineros  y  pasajeros 
vestidos  de  librea.  Aqui  se  represent6  el  Naufragio  de  Jonds  prof  eta,  y  se 
vio  la  nao  ir  por  el  agua,  con  la  qual  hubo  gran  conmocion  y  tormenta 
con  artiHcio  de  polvora  que  debajo  del  tablado  se  encendio."  (Sanchez- 
Arjona,  p.  97.) 

'Bulletin  Hispanigue  (1907),  p.  365. 

*  Bulletin  Hispanigue  (1907),  p.  375. 

*  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  125. 

•"Se  obliga  a  pintar  los  ocho  medios  carros,  en  que  se  hace  la  represen- 
tacion,  de  pinturas  Hnas  .  .  .  y  tambien  en  los  quatro  medios  carrillos  que 
se  meten  en  medio  para  las  representaciones."  {Ibid.,  p.  182.)  The  term 
medio  carro  (middle  car)  is  explained  by  a  document  dated  Madrid,  May 
iS»  1593:  "Obligacion  de  Nicolas  Granelo,  criado  de  S.  M..  pintor    resi- 


3IO  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

in  1620  a  medio  carro  was  built  "with  its  two  bridges, 
upon  which  the  stage  is  to  be  placed,  and  the  stage  is  to 
have  the  same  form  as  it  has  in  the  others  [i.e.,  cars] 
with  its  balustrades  and  railings."^ 

That  a  stage  was  built  at  the  various  points  along  the 
streets  where  the  auto  was  to  be  represented,  and  that 
the  carros  were  grouped  around  this  stage,  is  evident  from 
many  descriptions  of  the  autos.  Still,  the  word  here  used 
for  stage  [tablado)  seems  sometimes  to  have  the  meaning 
of  scaffold  or  stand  for  spectators.^  It  is  probable  that 
representations  also  took  place  upon  one  of  the  carros,  so, 
at  all  events,  we  should  infer  from  the  fact  that  in  1593 
eight  cars  were  ordered  to  be  painted  for  the  festival  of 
Corpus,  beside  "the  one  in  the  middle  which  serves  for 
the  representations."^  Moreover,  above  (p.  308)  we 
read  of  the  "floors  of  the  cars  on  which  they  are  to  act.'* 
Perhaps  it  was  the  custom  to  set  up  the  stage  on  the 
bridges  of  one  of  the  cars,  as  was  done  in  1620,  as  we 
have  just  seen.     When  Rios  represented  a  comedia  and 

dente  en  Madrid,  de  hacer  la  pintura  de  los  8  carros  que  esta  Villa  hace 
para  la  fiesta  del  Santisimo  y  la  del  'que  sirve  en  medio  para  las  repre- 
sentaciones,'  en  precio  de  230  ducados"  {ibid.,  p.  35),  and  another  record 
dated  Madrid,  April  5,  1595:  "Fianza  de  Pedro  de  la  Puente,  obrero  de 
la  villa  de  Madrid,  en  favor  de  Fabricio  Castello,  pintor  de  su  Magestad, 
_que  hara  la  pintura  de  los  ocho  carros  que  esta  villa  hace  para  la  fiesta 
del  Santisimo  Sacramento  deste  presente  ano  de  noventa  y  cinco,  asi  los 
cuerpos  principales  como  el  que  sirve  en  medio  para  las  representaciones." 
{Ibid.,  p.  343.)  For  the  auto  entitled  El  Meson  del  Alma,  represented  at 
Seville  in  1607  by  the  company  of  Riquelme,  the  following  description  of 
the  medio  carro  was  furnished  by  the  city  authorities:  "Para  el  auto  El 
Meson  del  Alma  se  dispuso  que  en  un  medio  carro  ha  de  haber  una  casa 
grande,  donde  va  toda  la  compania  deste  auto,  con  sus  torres,  chapiteles  y 
remates,  en  la  qual  han  de  ir  pintados  atributos  de  la  Gracia  y  Virtudes 
y  lo  demas  que  dijere  el  poeta.  Item  esta  casa  ha  de  tener  quatro  lienzos 
en  quadrado  con  la  largura  y  anchura  que  le  convenga."  (Sanchez- 
Arjona,  Anales,  p.  128.) 

^  Ibid.,  p.  186.  3  Junio  1620. — Condiciones  de  un  medio  carro  que  se 
ha  de  hacer  para  las  fiestas  del  Santisimo  Sacramento  del  ano  1620,  "con 
sus  dos  puentes  en  que  ha  de  ir  el  tablado  encima  y  el  tablado  ha  de  ser 
de  la  misma  forma  que  esta  en  los  otros  con  sus  balustres  y  antepechos." 

'  See  Nuevos  Datos,  pp.  13,  14,  17. 

^  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  35,  and  ibid.,  p.  40:  Abril  1595.  "Fianza  para  los 
8  carros  triunfales  y  el  de  las  representaciones  en  las  fiestas  del  Corpus."" 


EL  TABLADO  311 

an  auto  in  the  village  of  Fuenlabrada  in  August,  1603,  it 
was  especially  stipulated  that  "el  tablado  se  ha  de  pagar  y 
aderezar  por  cuenta  de  la  Cofradia."^  Here  tablado 
could  only  have  meant  the  acting  stage.  At  the  close  of 
the  first  scene  of  Josef  de  Valdivielso's  El  Peregrino,  an 
auto  published  in  1622,  is  the  direction  "Cierrase  el 
tablado,  y  queda  dentro  la  Tierra."^ 

Calderon's  autos  show  clearly  that  there  were  fixed 
stages  or  tablados,  the  cars  being  arranged  around  them, 
the  actors  facing  the  select  company  before  which  the 
auto  is  presented,  while  the  great  mass  of  the  populace 
see  only  their  backs.  In  Calderon's  El  sacro  Parnaso 
(1659)  the  stage  is  referred  to  as  "el  tablado  de  la  repre- 
sentacion,"  and  in  the  same  author's  Quien  hallard  Mujer 
fuerte  (1672),  in  the  "Memoria  de  las  Apariencias,"  we 
read:  "El  segundo  carro  ha  de  tener  tambien  bajada  para 
el  tablado,  por  donde  pueda  subir  una  muger."^ 

The  properties  on  these  cars  were  of  pasteboard 
{pasta)  and  were  made  "as  the  poets  requested"  {con- 
forme  lo  pidieren  los  poetas) ^  The  costumes  worn  by 
the  players  were  of  the  richest  and  costliest  stuffs.  In 
1624,  when  Antonio  de  Prado  represented  two  of  the 
autos  at  Madrid,  it  was  especially  stipulated  that  "he 
shall  provide  the  costumes  for  the  said  autos  and  entre- 
meses,  and  they  are  to  be  of  brocatel  and  velvet  and 
damask  and  sateen^  trimmed  with  gold  passementerie, 
all  new  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  comisarios.'"^ 

Like  the  comedia,  the  autos  sacrament  ales  were  inva- 
riably accompanied  by  bayles  and  entremeses.    Cervantes 

^  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  8i. 

*  Gonzalez  Pedroso,  in  Bibl.  de  Autores  Esp.,  Vol.  58,  p.  203. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  403.  See  also  Calderon's  La  Nave  del  Mercader:  "baja  la 
Culpa  al  tablado."  Ibid.,  p.  441,  and  La  Vina  del  Senor.  Ibid.,  pp.  464, 
475.  For  an  account  of  the  autos  and  their  representation^  see  Schack, 
Geschichte,  etc.,  Vol.  II,  p.  129,  and  Julio  Monreal,  Cuadros  viejos,  pp. 
203  ff.,  and  especially  p.  230. 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  182. 
^  Ibid.,  p.  205,  and  see  above,  p.  107. 


312  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

gives  a  description  of  a  traveling  company  which  was 
representing  the  auto  entitled  Las  Cortes  de  la  Muerte 
in  various  small  towns  during  the  octave  of  Corpus 
Christi  (we  copy  from  the  excellent  translation  of  John 
Ormsby)  ^ : 

Don  Quixote  was  about  to  reply  to  Sancho  Panza,  but  he  was 
prevented  by  a  cart  crossing  the  road  full  of  the  most  diverse  and 
strange  personages  and  figures  that  could  be  imagined.  He  who 
led  the  mules  and  acted  as  carter  was  a  hideous  demon ;  the  cart 
was  open  to  the  sky,  with  a  tilt  or  cane  roof,  and  the  first  figure 
that  presented  itself  to  Don  Quixote's  eyes  was  that  of  Death 
itself  with  a  human  face ;  next  to  it  was  an  angel  with  large  painted 
wings,  and  at  one  side  an  emperor,  with  a  crown,  to  all  appearance 
of  gold,  on  his  head.  At  the  feet  of  Death  was  the  god  called 
Cupid,  without  his  bandage,  but  with  his  bow,  quiver,  and  arrows ; 
there  was  also  a  knight  in  full  armour,  except  that  he  had  no 
morion  or  helmet,  but  only  a  hat  decked  with  plumes  of  divers 
colours;  and  along  with  these  there  were  others  with  a  variety  of 
costumes  and  faces.  All  this,  unexpectedly  encountered,  took  Don 
Quixote  somewhat  aback,  and  struck  terror  into  the  heart  of 
Sancho ;  but  the  next  instant  Don  Quixote  was  glad  of  it,  believing 
that  some  new  perilous  adventure  was  presenting  itself  to  him,  and 
under  this  impression,  and  with  a  spirit  prepared  to  face  any  dan- 
ger, he  planted  himself  in  front  of  the  cart,  and,  in  a  loud  and 
jaienacing  tone,  exclaimed,  "Carter  or  coachman,  or  devil,  or  what- 
ever thou  art,  tell  me  at  once  who  thou  art,  whither  thou  art  going, 
and  who  these  folk  are  thou  carriest  in  thy  waggon,  which  looks 
more  like  Charon's  boat  than  an  ordinary  cart."  To  which  the 
devil,  stopping  the  cart,  answered  quietly,  "Senor,  we  are  players 
of  Angulo  el  Malo's  company  [a  theatrical  manager  and  dramatist 
who  flourished  about  1580]  ;  we  have  been  acting  the  auto  of  'The 
Cortes  of  Death'  this  morning,  which  is  the  octave  of  Corpus 
Christi,  in  a  village  behind  that  hill,  and  we  have  to  act  it  this 
afternoon  in  that  village  which  you  can  see  from  this;  and  as  it  is 
so  near,  and  to  save  the  trouble  of  undressing  and  dressing  again, 
we  go  in  the  costumes  in  which  we  perform.  That  lad  there  ap- 
pears as  Death,  that  other  as  an  angel,  that  woman,  the  manager's 

*  Don  Quixote,  Part  II,  chap.  xi. 


MISERABILE  VULGUS  313 

wife,  plays  the  queen,  this  one  the  soldier,  that  the  emperor,  and  I 
the  devil ;  and  I  am  one  of  the  principal  characters  of  the  auto,  for 
in  this  company  I  take  the  leading  parts.  If  you  want  to  know 
anything  more  about  us,  ask  me,  and  I  will  answer  with  the  utmost 
exactitude,  for,  as  I  am  a  devil,  I  am  up  to  everything."  Belonging 
to  this  company  also  was  "a  merry-andrew,  in  a  mummer's  dress 
with  a  great  number  of  bells,  and  armed  with  three  blown  ox- 
bladders  at  the  end  of  a  stick." 

The  above-mentioned  Cortes  de  la  Muerte  was  probably 
the  auto  which,  begun  by  Miguel  de  Carvajal  and  finished 
by  Luis  Hurtado  de  Toledo,  was  published  in  1557, 
and  represented  in  Seville  in  1570  and  again  in  1571.^ 

As  in  the  performance  of  comedias,  there  was  also, 
even  on  such  solemn  occasions  as  the  representation  of 
autos  sacramentales  at  Corpus  Chrlsti,  much  noise  and 
disorder  among  the  motley  crowds  that  thronged  the 
streets  and  the  public  squares  to  see  them.  Nor  was  this 
disorder  confined  to  the  mob  (populacho) .  Under  date 
of  June  16,  1615,  we  read  the  following:  "In  this  Council 
[Madrid]  attention  being  drawn  to  the  disorder  which  is 
wont  to  be  created  on  the  stage  (tablado)  erected  for  the 
purpose  of  enabling  the  wives  of  the  regidores  to  view  the 
autos  at  the  festival  of  the  Holy  Sacrament,  the  corregi- 
dor  commands  that  the  said  stage  or  stand  be  apportioned 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  windows  in  the  plaza  are  as- 
signed for  the  bull-fights,  according  to  seniority  {por  su 
antiguedad) ,  beginning  from  the  middle  of  the  stage  and 
giving  to  the  four  most  ancient  gentlemen  five,  feet  of 
stage,  and  in  this  manner  to  continue  the  apportionment 
on  both  sides,  .  .  .  making  the  division  by  means  of 
wooden  frames,"  etc.^ 

How  these  processions  degenerated  into  mere  mum- 
mery through  the  license  and  abuse  of  the  participants, 

*  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  44.     It  has  been  republished  by  Don  Justo 
de  Sancha  in  Vol.  XXXV  of  the  Biblioteca  de  Autores  Espanoles. 

*  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  158. 


314  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

and  how  the  religious  significance  and  solemnity  of  the 
representations  was  greatly  impaired  and  almost  de- 
stroyed by  the  boisterous  and  unruly  conduct  of  the 
crowd,  is  shown  by  an  edict  of  the  Bishop  of  Badajoz  in 
1605.  To  this  decree  the  city  of  Badajoz  objected,  and 
petitioned  the  King  that  the  comedias  and  dances  on  the 
day  of  Corpus  should  be  allowed,  as  heretofore,  "upon 
a  stage  erected  for  that  purpose,  on  which  is  revealed  the 
Most  Holy  Sacrament,  and  that  the  Corregldor,  Bishop, 
Dean,  and  Chapter  of  the  said  church  take  part." 

Among  other  things,  the  edict  of  the  Bishop^  pro- 
hibited the  clothing  of  the  image  of  Our  Lady  in  bor- 
rowed bridal  garments;  "(i)  that  no  ruffed  collars  or 
other  adornments  in  fashion  among  women  be  put  on 
such  images,  under  penalty  of  excommunication  and  a 
fine  of  20  ducats.  (2)  That  no  one  dress  himself  as  a 
saint  or  take  part  as  such  in  any  procession  or  on  a  car 
unless  he  be  acting  in  some  devotional  auto  in  which  a 
saint  takes  part,  and  then  he  must  have  a  license  to  do  so; 
nor  shall  he  stand  at  an  altar  or  in  any  other  place,  unless 
in  some  devotional  auto  that  is  being  acted,  for  besides 
the  great  indecency  of  such  an  action,  we  have  seen  and 
know  that  for  the  said  representations  beautiful  girls  are 
fought,  who,  as  they  are  generally  poor  and  are  seen 

'The  Bishop's  edict  contains  the  following  prohibitions: 
(i)  "Que  se  vistan  las  imagenes  de  Nuestra  Senora  con  prestados  que 
llevan  puestos  para  los  casamientos  las  desposadas,  que  no  se  le  pongan 
lechuguillos  ni  otros  adornos  de  moda  entre  las  mugeres,  so  pena  de  ex- 
comunion  mayor,  20  ducados  para  la  guerra  contra  infieles  y  pcrdida  de 
los  tales  vestidos." 

(2)  Que  ninguno  se  vista  de  santo  y  asista  vestido  de  tal,  "en  procesion 
alguna  ni  en  carro  si  no  fuere  habiendo  de  representar  algun  auto  de 
deuocion  en  que  intervenga  algun  santo,  y  esto  con  licencia  de  nuestro 
provisor  dada  en  escrito,  mas  que  de  ninguna  manera  no  puedan  estar  en 
altares  ni  en  otros  puestos  no  habiendo  auto  en  que  se  hable  y  represente 
algo  de  devocion,  porque  fuera  de  la  grande  indecencia  que  esto  tiene, 
avemos  visto  y  sabido  que  se  andan  buscando  muchachas  hermosas  y  de 
buenos  pareceres  para  las  dichas  representaciones,  las  quales,  como  ordina- 
riamente  son  pobres,  y  son  vistas  de  todo  el  pueblo,  somos  informado  de 
•las  ofensas  k  Dios  y  pecados  que  resultan  dello." 


THE  BISHOP  OF  BADAJOZ  315 

by  all  the  people,  we  are  informed  that  offenses  to  God 
and  sins  result  therefrom.  (3)  That  no  cars  in  these  pro- 
cessions be  drawn  by  oxen,  mules,  or  horses,  on  account  of 
the  shouts  of  the  drivers  and  the  disorder  resulting  from 
the  confusion  of  the  cars  with  the  saints  who  are  carried 
on  litters,  and  the  disputes  which  arise,  as  in  the  past  year, 
when  swords  were  drawn  and  blows  were  exchanged,  pro- 
ducing great  scandal;  wherefore  the  said  cars  may  be 
brought  out  and  the  representations  made  to  the  people 
either  before  or  after  the  procession.  (4)  That  no  pro- 
fane comedia  be  performed  at  the  festival  of  Corpus 
Christi,  but  only  devout  autos,  without  profane  entre- 
meses,  nor  any  other  thing  that  may  divert  the  people 
from  the  devotion  and  adoration  of  the  Holy  Sacrament 
or  from  the  reverence  which  is  due  to  the  presence  of  so 
great  a  Lord  [the  Host],  or  which  may  incite  the  people 
to  laughter,  s'houts,  or  any  other  unseemly  actions  which 
are  repugnant  to  representations  of  this  kind." 

Down  to  the  year  1635  these  Corpus  processions  in 
Seville  had  always  taken  place  in  the  morning,  but  in  this 
year  they  were  changed  to  the  afternoon,  and  the  autos 
were  represented  on  the  cars  in  the  morning,  after  high 
mass.^ 

We  have,  in  a  previous  chapter,  referred  to  the  objec- 

(3)  "Que  no  se  saquen  para  esta  procesion  carros  con  bueyes,  mulas  o 
caballos,  por  los  gritos  que  dan  los  carreteros  y  por  el  desorden  que  hay 
en  ello  por  estar  a  veces  confundidos  los  carros  con  los  santos  que  van  en 
andas  y  promoverse  questiones  como  la  del  ano  anterior  en  que  se  sacaron 
las  espadas  y  andaron  a  cuchiiladas,  promoviendo  un  fuerte  escandalo; 
por  lo  qual  podrian  salir  dichos  carros  y  hacer  las  representaciones  al 
pueblo  antes  o  despues  de  la  procesion." 

(4)  "Que  en  las  fiestas  del  Corpus  Christi  no  se  haga  comedia  ninguna 
profana  sino  algunos  autos  devotos  sin  mezcla  de  entremeses  profanos  ni 
de  cosa  que  no  sea  para  mejor  enderezar  el  pueblo  a  devocion  y  adorar  al 
Santisimo  Sacramento,  e  conforme  a  la  reuerencia  que  se  debe  en  presencia 
de  tan  gran  Senor  e  no  para  mover  el  pueblo  a  risa  y  hacer  otras  descom- 
posiciones,  gritos,  ruidos  y  alborotos  indebidos  con  semej  antes  representa- 
ciones." Todo  esto  so  pena  de  excomunion  mayor,  20  ducados  para  la 
cera  del  Santisimo.     {Ibid.,  pp.  103,  104.) 

'  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  253. 


3i6  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

tions  and  protests  of  the  historian  Padre  Juan  de  Mariana 
to  the  manner  in  which  the  autos  sacramentales  were 
represented,  and  to  these  the  testimony  of  many  other 
writers  might  be  added.  In  1600  Fray  Jose  de  Jesus 
Mariana,  a  barefoot  Carmelite  of  Madrid,^  objects  not 
only,  as  we  have  seen,^  to  "vile  and  infamous  men,"  as  he 
calls  them,  representing  the  autos  sacramentales,  but  pro- 
tests earnestly  against  the  introduction  of  worldly  and  ir- 
reverent entremeses  into  such  sacred  representations.  He 
says  that  these  actors,  "accustomed  to  their  evil  manner  of 
living,  frequently  do  and  say  things  before  the  Holy  Sac- 
rament which  are  wholly  foreign  to  the  name  of  Christian 
and  worthy  of  severe  punishment.  And  even  if  it  were 
tolerable  that  persons  so  infamous  should  represent  such 
lofty  mysteries,  what  have  holy  festivals  to  do  with  en- 
tremeses treating  of  robberies  and  adulteries,  which  are 
ordinarily  mingled  with  the  autos  sacramentales?  If  this 
is  justly  intolerable  in  profane  comedias,  how  can  it  be 
endured  in  those  which  treat  of  sacred  subjects?  It  is 
this  admixture,  in  Spain,  of  the  sacred  and  profane,  which 
offends  all  foreigners  and  all  good  and.  pious  natives." 

Despite  these  protests,  of  which  we  might  cite  many 
more  from  the  work  of  Sr.  Cotarelo,  autos  sacramentales 
^continued  to  be  represented  in  the  public  squares  and 
theaters  of  the  principal  cities  until  1765.  On  June  10 
of  that  year  a  royal  decree  was  issued  declaring  that  the 
theaters  were  not  proper  places  and  the  comedians  were 
unfit  and  unworthy  persons  to  represent  the  sacred  mys- 
teries of  which  the  autos  sacramentales  treat,  and  that 
the  King  has  therefore  determined  to  prohibit  absolutely 
all  representations  of  autos  sacramentales  and  to  renew 
the  prohibition  of  comedias  de  santos.^  Thus  there 
passed  from  the  popular  stage  a  kind  of  religious  drama 

^  In  his  Primera  Parte  de  las  Excelencias  de  la  Virtud  de  la  Castidad, 
Alcala,  1601,  chap,  xvii;  see  Cotarelo  y  Mori,  Controversias,  p.  377. 
*  Above,  p.  262.  ^Controversias,  p.  657. 


AVTOS  IN  THE  THEATERS  317 

that  was  peculiar  to  Spain  and  which,  in  the  hands  of 
some  of  its  dramatists,  notably  Calderon,  had  reached 
the  highest  point  of  beauty  and  perfection. 

We  have  already^  alluded  to  the  fact  that  autos  sacra- 
mentales  were  not  only  represented  in  the  public  squares, 
but  also  in  the  theaters  of  Madrid  as  early  as  160T. 
Under  what  conditions  these  autos  in  the  theaters  took 
place,  we  do  not  know.  That  an  admission  fee  was 
paid,  however,  in  this  event,  is  certain.  It  appears 
that  originally  the  autos  were  represented  on  only  two 
days:  Corpus  Christi  day  and  the  next  day  (Friday). 
In  1574  Jeronimo  Velazquez  stipulated  to  represent  three 
autos  "only  on  Corpus  day  and  afterward  wherever  he 
may  be  commanded. "^  But  all  the  representations  were 
confined  to  these  two  days.  So  in  1594  the  representa- 
tions were  to  be  on  Corpus  and  the  day  following,^  and 
in  1599,  when  Caspar  de  Porres  presented  the  autos, 
they  were  to  be  performed  only  on  Corpus  day  and  on  the 
following  day,  and  it  was  expressly  agreed  that  the  carros 
were  to  be  returned  on  Saturday.*  In  1600,  when  Mel- 
chor  de  Villalba  and  Gabriel  de  la  Torre  represented  the 
autos  at  Madrid,  they  received  for  two  autos  each  650 
ducats,  to  be  represented  on  Thursday  and  Friday,"* 
and  in  1609,  when  the  autos  in  Madrid  were  in  charge 
of  Alonso  de  Heredia  and  Domingo  Balbin,  each  was 
to  represent  two  autos  on  Thursday  and  Friday  for 
600  ducats,  and  if  the  court  should  be  in  Madrid  on 
Saturday  they  were  to  receive  a  gratuity  for  the  rep- 
resentations on  that  day.^  This  latter  stipulation  occurs 
constantly  in  the  succeeding  years  down  to  1638.''^  In 
1 61 2  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano  and  Tomas  Fernandez 
de  Cabredo  represented  the  autos,  and  "because  they  had 

'  P.  250. 

^  Nuevos  Datos,  p.  334. 

"/*zV.,  p.  38.  */*zV.,  p.  49.  '' Ibid.,  p.  s2. 

'Ibid.,  p.  112.    See  also  above,  p.  200. 

'' Nuevos  Datos,  pp.  132,  134,  156,  i6o,  161,  166,  188,  206,  224. 


31 8  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

given  more  representations  than  they  were  oWiged  to 
give  (Morales  five  and  Cabredo  seven)  on  Saturday, 
besides  those  on  Thursday  and  Friday,"  the  former  re- 
ceived 700  and  the  latter  800  reals  extra.^ 

In  1639  the  autos  were  represented  in  Madrid  in  the 
following  order :  On  Thursday  afternoon  ( Corpus  day)  all 
four  autos  were  to  be  given  in  the  presence  of  the  King  be- 
fore the  royal  palace  at  such  an  hour  as  the  King  should 
fix;  then  the  four  autos  were  to  be  performed  before  the 
Princess  of  Carignan,  wife  of  Prince  Thomas,  in  front  of 
the  monastery  of  the  Incarnation.  On  Friday  before 
the  "casas  del  Ayuntamiento"  in  the  Plazuela  de  San 
Salvador,  then  two  autos  before  the  Council  of  Aragon 
and  two  before  the  Council  of  Italy.  On  Saturday  be- 
fore the  "Consejos  de  Inquisicion  y  Cruzada,"  and  in  the 
afternoon  to  the  Villa  de  Madrid,  before  the  "casas  del 
Ayuntamiento,"  etc.,  and  on  Sunday,  in  the  afternoon, 
before  the  Archbishop  of  Granada,  etc.^ 

In  1649  there  is  specific  information  of  the  representa- 
tion of  autos  in  the  public  theaters.  In  that  year  "Diego 
Osorio  began  to  represent  the  auto  sacramental  which 
fell  to  the  lot  of  his  company  in  the  Corral  del  Principe, 
on  Wednesday,  June  23,  and  he  gave  twelve  repre- 
sentations in  the  theater  until  July  4.  The  said  Osorio 
ceased  to  perform  in  the  said  Corral  del  Principe,  and 
Antonio  de  Prado  entered  it  and  began  on  Saturday, 
July  10,  giving  fifteen  representations  of  the  auto  sacra- 
mental which  he  was  to  give,  until  July  25,  for  on  July 
24  there  was  no  representation.  Osorio  did  not  [again] 
represent  until  July  16,  when  he  began  in  the  Corral  de  la 
Cruz,  where  he  gave  thirteen  representations  until  July 
30.  On  August  5  Prado  began  to  represent  the  auto  La 
Vacante  in  the  Principe,  where  he  gave  nine  representa- 
tions of  the  said  auto  until  August  13,  and  then  rested 

^  Ntievos  Datos,  p.  130. 

*  Perez  Pastor,  Colder  on  Documentos,  Vol.  I,  p.  119. 


EXPENSE  OF  AUTOS  319 

iintll  the  24th,  when  he  began  in  the  said  corral  the  auto 
La  Magdalena,  of  which  he  alone  gave  in  this  corral 
fifteen  representations  until  September  8,  so  that  there 
were  twenty-four  representations  of  the  said  two  autos  in 
the  said  corral.  Between  September  14  and  September 
29  Prado  gave  ten  representations.  From  October  3  to 
October  16  he  alone  represented  and  then  ceased.  On 
August  6  Osorio  began  in  La  Cruz  and  gave  two  repre- 
sentations to  August  10.  On  September  20  he  again 
represented  in  the  Corral  del  Principe  and  gave  seven 
representations.  From  October  16  to  November  i  Osorio 
gave  twelve  representations."^ 

Whether  the  autos  were  afterward  conducted  on  the 
scale  of  magnificence  which  they  attained  in  1649,  or 
whether  they  were  represented  for  as  long  a  period  as 
they  were  given  in  the  theaters  in  this  year,  we  have  no 
means  of  determining.  The  Dutch  traveler  Francis  van 
Aerssen,  who  visited  Spain  in  1655,  ^^^^^  us  that  when 

'Perez  Pastor,  Calderon  Documentos,  Vol.  I,  pp.  i66,  167.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  add  a  list  of  the  expenses  incurred  for  the  autos  at  Madrid  in 
this  year,  1649,  showing  the  enormous  costs  which  these  entertainments, 
fostered  by  the  idle  and  show-loving  Philip  IV,  brought  upon  his  exhausted 
country. 

Fiesta  del  Santisimo  Sacramento.    Ano  1649. 

Gastos: 

A  los  autores  por  las  representaciones 710,600 mrs. 

Al  que  compone  los  autos 112,200  " 

Al  cerero 644,470  " 

A  Juan  de  Cararaanchel  para  hacer  los  carros 319,600  " 

A  Caspar  Flores  y  compafiia  por  las  danzas 421,600  " 

A  Adrian  Lopez  por  el  lienzo  de  los  toldos 366,656  " 

Por  traer  la  Tarasca 27,200  " 

Hermanos  de  la  Dotrina 112,200  " 

La  musica 76,296  " 

Por  Uevar  los  carros  y  aderezos  para  ellos 14,012  " 

Al  mayordomo  de  propios  para  gastos  menudos 17,760  " 

Al  obrero  para  unos  palos 21,760  " 

Al  dicho  para  coser  los  toldos  y  hacerlos 105,944  " 

A  Juan  Blanco  por  el  tablado  de  la  plaza 127,500  " 

Tablado  de  Palacio 51,000  " 

Carried  forward 3,128,798  mrs. 


320  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

the  autos  were  represented  the  theaters  were  closed 
for  a  month.  The  money  derived  from  the  entrance 
fees  to  the  theaters  during  these  representations  may 
have  helped  to  defray  the  expenses  of  these  festivals; 
it  was  undoubtedly  a  source  of  profit  for  the  atitores 
who  represented  the  autos,  for  the  sum  of  950  ducats, 
which  they  received,  could  only  have  compensated  them 
for  the  free  representations  on  the  first  three  days  of  the 
Corpus  festival. 

These  festivals  were  a  very  considerable  financial  help 
to  Calderon.  Acknowledged  as  the  foremost  religious 
poet  of  Spain,  his  services  were  in  great  demand  on 
these  occasions,  and  he  received  a  much  larger  hono- 
rarium for  his  autos  sacramentales  than  any  other  poet 
had  yet  obtained.  In  1639  ^^  wrote  for  the  Corpus 
celebration  of  that  year  two  autos:  Santa  Maria 
Egipciaca  and  El  mejor  Huesped  de  Espana,  and 
in  1640  Los  Misterios  de  la  Misa  and  El  Juicio  final. 
In  1645  he  wrote  the  four  autos  for  the  festival,  re- 
Brought  forward 3,128,798  mrs. 

A  Francisco  de  Mena,  por  la  escalera  que  se  hace  en  casa 

del  Marques  de  Canete 22,200    " 

Por  poner  los  toldos 95. 200    " 

De  colgar  el  tablado 34iOOO    " 

Atajos 11,050    " 

A  los  escuderos  de  a  pie 11,220    " 

Traer  los  Gigantes 37t944    " 

Puntas  y  valonas  para  los  Gigantes 14,416    " 

Atajo  primero  de  Santa  Maria 6,800    " 

Ministriles 5,580    " 

Aiguaciles 13,056    " 

Limpiar  la  custodia 17,000    *' 

A  los  porteros  que  se  ocupan 9,520    " 

Al  alguacil  mayor 6,800    " 

Al  cura  de  Santa  Maria 3,400    " 

Tablados  para  representar  a  el  pueblo 6,732    " 

Propina  a  los  seiiores  del  Consejo  y  a  la  Villa 710,100    " 

Total 4,133,816  mrs. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  Calderon,  who  wrote  the  four  autos  for  the 
festival  of  this  year,  received  112,200  maravedis  =  300  ducats,  and  the 
autores  de  comedias  each  950  ducats. 


AUTOS  BY  CALDERON  321 

ceiving  3300  reals  vellon  (copper),  which  sum  was  also 
paid  him  in  the  years  1648  to  1653,  while  in  1654  to 
1656  he  received  4000  reals. ^  During  this  time  and,  I 
believe,  thereafter  until  his  death,  he  alone  was  honored 
with  the  privilege  of  writing  the  autos  for  the  Madrid 
festival.  But  besides  the  3300  reals  vellon  which  Calde- 
ron  received  from  the  city  for  the  autos,  a  document  of 
1652  shows  that  each  of  the  two  autores  de  comedias  who 
represented  them  was  obliged  to  pay  him  700  reals,  i.e., 
he  then  received  4700  reals. ^  In  1654-56  he  was  paid 
4000  reals  vellon,^  while  from  1657  to  1665  he  received 
4400  reals,  i.e.,  3000  from  the  city  and  1400  from  the 
autores.  In  the  latter  year  the  sum  paid  him  was  5800 
reals,  and  this  sum  he  continued  to  receive  until  1680,  the 
year  before  his  death,  when  5500  reals  were  paid  him  for 
two  autos. ^  It  appears  that  as  early  as  1658,**  and  per- 
haps in  the  previous  year,  only  two  autos  sacramentales 
were  represented  each  year  at  Madrid,  and  this  was  the 
rule  thereafter  until  the  death  of  Calderon.  Four  autos 
were  also  represented  annually  in  Seville  down  to  the  year 
1648,  when  only  two  were  given,  and  the  same  number 
thereafter.^  Calderon  continued  to  write  the  autos  for 
the  Madrid  festival  until  1681,  the  year  of  his  death, 
when  he  left  an  auto  unfinished,  which  was  completed  by 
Don  Manuel  de  Leon  Marchante."^ 

'Perez  Pastor,  Calderon  Documenios,  Vol.  I,  pp.  120,  122,  127,  163,  168, 
187,  196,  206,  224,  240. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  196,  333,  337.  *  Ibid.,  pp.  224,  238,  240. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  249,  315,  336  ei  passim.  *  Ibid.,  p.  257. 
'  Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales,  p.  449. 

'  See  above,  p.  295. 


CHAPTER  XV 

Contemporary  accounts  of  the  representation  of  comedias  and 
autos.  Francis  van  Aerssen.  The  Comtesse  dAulnoy.  The 
behavior  of  audiences.  Scenes  in  the  theaters.  Spanish  players 
abroad.    Conclusion. 

The  accounts  of  persons  who  were  eye-witnesses  of  the 
representation  of  a  comedia  at  a  time  when  some  of  the 
great  dramatists  were  still  living  and  when  several  of 
the  greatest  among  them  had  not  long  since  passed  away, 
always  possess  an  exceeding  Interest.  When  these  ac- 
counts are  due  to  the  pen  of  a  foreigner,  some  allowance 
must  necessarily  be  made,  not  only  for  national  prejudice, 
which  Is  apt  to  warp  his  judgment  somewhat,  but  also  for 
a  Tiore  or  less  Imperfect  knowledge  of  the  language. 
Nevertheless,  they  furnish  us  with  a  living  picture  of  the 
scene  as  it  passed  before  the  eyes  of  the  spectator,  and 
herein  they  possess  the  definite  value  of  contemporary 
''documents.  With  their  aid  it  requires  no  very  great  flight 
of  the  imagination  to  picture  ourselves  in  one  of  the  co- 
rrales  of  Madrid,  in  the  very  place  and  atmosphere  In 
which  these  immortal  productions  of  the  great  masters  of 
the  Spanish  drama  were  enacted,  and  to  view  them  once 
more,  through  the  long  vista  of  nearly  three  hundred 
years.  The  very  realistic  description  of  the  interior  of  the 
Corral  de  la  Olivera  in  Valencia,  given  in  the  comedia  La 
Baltasara,  has  already  been  alluded  to  In  a  previous  chap- 
ter. The  other  accounts  which  we  possess  belong,  with  two 
exceptions,  to  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  or 
somewhat  later.  It  may  not  be  without  Interest,  however,  to 

322 


"THE  WHEEL  OF  FORTUNE"  323 

give  the  earliest  of  these  contemporary  notices,  slight  as  it 
is.  The  simple  narrative  is  taken  from  a  MS.  formerly  in 
the  possession  of  Don  Pascual  de  Gayangos — a  name 
ever  to  be  recorded  with  gratitude  in  the  annals  of  Span- 
ish literature.  This  manuscript,  written  by  a  Morisco 
of  the  time  of  Philip  the  Third,  contains  all  sorts  of  moral 
observations  mingled  with  other  matters  and  descriptions 
of  passing  events,  among  them  an  account  of  a  representa- 
tion of  Mira  de  Mescua's  comedia  La  Rueda  de  la  For- 
tuna,  which  our  author  had  witnessed.  We  do  not  know 
when  Mescua's  play  was  written,  but  Lope  de  Vega,  in 
a  letter  to  a  friend,  mentions  that  it  was  acted  in  Toledo 
by  the  company  of  Juan  de  Morales  before  August, 
1604.^ 

The  Morisco's  account  is  as  follows : 

I  passed  through  the  door  of  a  house  which  I  saw  many  people 
entering — men  as  well  as  women.  Having  gone  in,  I  saw  a  large 
patio,  where,  upon  chairs  and  benches,  men  and  women  were  sit- 
ting; in  a  gallery  sat  the  women  of  the  common  people,  and  there 
were,  besides,  a  number  of  balconies  occupied  by  the  distinguished 
persons  with  their  wives.  In  the  patio  a  stage  was  erected,  upon 
which  all  eyes  were  fixed,  and  when  the  house  was  full,  I  saw  two 
ladies  (damas)  and  two  gallants  {galanes)  come  out  upon  the  stage 
with  their  vihuelas,  who  sang  these  decimas: 

"Quien  se  bio  en  prosperidad 
Y  se  be  en  misero  estado 
Considere  ques  prestado 
El  bien  y  la  adbersidad,"  etc. 

Having  finished  singing,  they  retired,  and  an  actor  entered,  clad 
in  a  garment  of  damask,  and  recited  the  loa.  After  he  had  finished 
and  had  withdrawn,  other  players  entered  to  represent  "The  Wheel 

•  ^  See  the  writer's  Life  of  Lope  de  Vega,  pp.  153,  154.  As  now  printed 
the  loa  shows  that  the  comedia  was  also  acted  by  the  company  of 
Riquelme.  {Dramaticos  contemporaneos  de  Lope  de  Vega,  Tomo  II,  Bibl. 
de  Aut.  Esp.) 


324  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

of  Fortune,"  which  sets  forth  the  various  conditions  of  the  world, 
and  how  they  are  subject  to  change,  etc. 

A  detailed  description  of  the  comedia  follows.^ 

Among  the  narratives  of  travelers  in  Spain  who  have 
left  any  account  of  theatrical  representations,  one  of  the 
most  interesting  is  that  of  a  Dutchman,  Francis  van  Aers- 
sen,  who  visited  Spain  in  1654-55,  though  his  account^ 
was  not  published  till  eleven  years  afterward.  In  1670 
an  English  translation  of  this  work  appeared  in  London, 
entitled  A  Journey  into  Spain,  though  it  is  nowhere  indi- 
cated that  this  little  book  is  a  translation.^  I  shall  quote 
from  this  English  version : 

On  one  side  of  the  Town  [Madrid]  is  the  Prado,  a  large  Walk 
made  use  of  for  the  Tour;  near  it  is  a  great  Fabrick,  but  low,  called 
Buen  Retiro.  The  Duke  of  Olivares,  during  his  administration, 
spent  many  Millions  on  a  Structure  that  is  not  very  considerable: 
I  saw  but  part  of  it,  where  a  Comedy  was  preparing  with  Scenes, 
that  would  amount  to  a  great  expence ;  a  Florentine  was  the  Under- 
taker. For  ordinary  Comedies  here  are  two  Theaters,  where  they 
act  every  day.  The  Players  have  to  themselves  not  above  three  half 
pence  for  every  person,  the  Hospital  as  much,  and  as  much  the 
Town-house;  [the  French  original  says:  and  for  a  seat  on  the 
benches  one  pays  besides  about  two  sous,  which  are  for  the  city,  to 
which  the  theaters  belong]  ;  to  set  down  costs  seven  pence,  the 
whole  amounting  to  fifteen  pence.  I  can  say  little  to  the  Lines  or 
Plots,   not  being  skilful  enough  in   the  language  to   understand 

*  Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  57. 

*  Voyage  d'Espagne,  Contenant  entre  plusieurs  particularitez  de  ce 
Royaume,  trots  Discours  Potitiques,  etc.,  avec  une  Relation  de  I'Estat  & 
Gowvernement  de  cette  Monarchie;  Gf  une  Relation  particuliire  de 
Madrid.  A  Cologne,  chez  Pierre  Marteau,  1666.  The  real  author  of  this 
work,  according  to  R.  Foulche-Delbosc,  was  Antoine  de  Brunei.  (See 
Revue  Hispanique,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  65.) 

*  A  Journey  into  Spain.  (Here  follows  a  quotation  from  Seneca,  de  Vita 
beata.)  London.  Printed  for  Henry  Herringman,  and  are  to  be  sold  at 
the  Sign  of  the  Blew  Anchor  in  the  Lower  Walk  of  the  Neiu  Exchange, 
1670.    6  -H  247  pp. 


FRANCIS  VAN  AERSSEN  325 

Poetry,  nor  the  figurative  fashion  of  speaking  that  belongs  to  it :  but 
know  they  play  their  parts  ill,  few  or  none  having  either  the  meen 
or  genius  of  true  Actors.  [They  do  not  play  by  the  light  of  torches, 
but]  They  present  by  day-light,  so  that  their  Scenes  appear  not 
with  advantage.  Their  Clothes  are  neither  rich,  nor  appropriated 
to  their  Subject;  and  the  Spanish  habit  serves  where  the  Scene  is 
Greece  or  Rome.  The  Playes  I  have  seen  have  but  three  Acts, 
called  Jornadas.  They  usually  begin  by  a  Prologue  in  Musick,  but 
sing  so  ill,  that  their  harmony  resembles  little  Childrens  whinings. 
Between  the  Acts  there  is  some  little  Farce,  Dance,  or  Intrigue, 
the  most  diverting  of  the  whole  Piece.  The  People  are*  so  taken 
with  them  it  is  hard  to  get  a  place,  the  best  being  bespoken,  and  the 
excessive  idleness  of  this  Country  is  made  evident  in  that  in  Paris 
it  self,  though  there  are  not  Playes  every  day,  there  is  no  such 
crowding  to  them.^ 

The  Dutch  traveler's  description  of  the  Corpus  Christi 
procession  and  the  autos  is  as  follows: 

As  the  publick  sports,  the  Moors  introduced  in  Spain,  whilst  they 
possessed  it,  continue  after  their  exile ;  the  Church  also  retains  some- 
thing of  their  superstition,  especially  on  Corpus  Christi  day.  The 
Twenty  seventh  of  May  we  saw  all  its  Ceremonies,  which  are- 
many,  and  last  long;  they  begin  by  a  procession,  whose  first  ranks 
are  intermixed  with  several  Hoboies,  Tabors,  and  Castanettas;  a 
great  many  habited  in  party  coloured  clothes,  skip  and  dance  as 
extravagantly  as  at  a  Morrice.  The  King  goes  to  St  Maries 
Church  not  far  from  his  Palace,  and  after  Mass,  returns  with  a 
Torch  in  his  hand,  following  a  silver  Tabernacle,  in  which  is  the 
Holy  Wafer,  attended  by  the  Grandes  of  Spain,  and  his  several 
Councils.  This  day  to  avoid  dispute,  they  observe  not  order,  so 
that  the  Counsellors  de  la  Hazienda,  joyn  with  those  of  the  Indies; 
before  these  Counsellors  and  certain  other  persons,  move  Machines, 
representing  Giants;  these  are  Statues  of  Pasboard  carried  by  men 
concealed  under  them:  they  are  of  several  shapes,  some  very 
hideous;  all  of  them  represent  Femals,  except  the  first,  which  is 
only  the  Figure  of  a  great  head  painted,  within  which  is  concealed 

^A  Journey  into  Spain,  pp.  19-21;  Voyage  d'Esfagne,  pp.  29,  30. 


326  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

a  little  man  that  gives  it  meen  and  motion :  it  being  a  Colossus  over 
the  body  of  a  Pigmie.  Amongst  these  chimerical  Monsters,  there 
is  one  w^hich  represents  two  Giantesses,  Moors,  or  Aethiopians, 
such  having  really  been  if  wt  may  beleeve  the  vulgar,  who  call  them 
Hijos  de  Vecinos,  that  is,  neighbors  children.  The  people  are  so 
taken  with  these  Gothick  figures,  that  there  is  scarce  any  Village 
without  them.  They  report  the  Giantesses  to  have  lived  in  the 
time  of  King  Mammelin,  and  on  that  account  sometimes  call  them 
Mammelins,  after  the  name  of  that  Gothick  or  Moorish  King  who 
once  Reigned  in  Spain.  I  was  told  of  another  terrible  Pageant 
{machine  epouvantable  qui  roule  ce  jour  la)  which  they  call 
Tarasca,  from  a  wood  that  was  formerly  in  Province,  where  at 
present  stands  the  City  of  Tarascon  on  the  banks  of  Rosne,  over 
against  Beaucaire.  They  fancy  that  in  this  place  was  once  a  Ser- 
pent (no  less  enemy  of  Mankind,  then  that  which  seduced  our  first 
Ancestors  in  Paradise)  called  Behemoth,  and  report  that  St  Martha 
by  oraisons  triumphed  over  it,  leading  it  prisoner  in  her  apron 
strings.  Be  this  History  or  Fable,  the  Tarasca  is  a  Serpent  of  enor- 
mous greatness  in  form  of  a  Woman,  moving  on  wheels,  the  body 
covered  with  scales,  a  vast  belly,  long  tail,  short  feet,  sharp  talons, 
fiery  eyes,  gaping  mouth,  out  of  which  extend  three  tongues,  and 
long  tusks.  This  Bulbegger  stalks  up  and  down  and  they  which  are 
under  the  pastboard  and  paper,  of  which  it  is  composed,  by  certain 
Springs,  cause  it  to  move  so  dexterously,  that  it  puts  off  the  Hat  to 
the  Sots  that  stare  at  it,  and  sometimes  lays  hold  on  Countrey  fel- 
lows, whose  fright  moves  laughter  amongst  the  people.  Such  as 
please  themselves  in  telling  wonders  of  this  foppery,  relate  that  a 
certain  Town  having  sent  to  some  of  its  neighbors  six  of  these  paper 
Giants,  two  Pigmies  and  the  Tarasca  to  be  made  use  of  on  Corpus 
Christi  day,  they  which  give  them  their  motion  being  entered,  to 
divert  themselves  in  the  passage,  caused  them  to  dance  as  at  pro- 
cessions by  couples:  they  were  met  by  certain  Muliters  or  Carriers, 
who  (Moonshine  discovering  at  a  distance,  these  imaginary  Mon- 
sters,) marching  with  a  great  deal  of  prattle  and  loud  laughter, 
(for  their  merrier  passing  two  or  three  Leagues)  not  recollecting 
what  was  to  be  done  the  day  after,  were  so  affrighted,  that  the  ter- 
ror still  augmenting,  by  their  contemplating  those  fantasmes,  they 
at  last  run  away  with  all  their  might.  The  conductors  of  the 
Monsters  perceiving  this,  casting  off  their  Vizards,  went  out  of  the 


THE  FESTIVAL  OF  CORPUS  CHRISTI  327 

Machines  to  disabuse  them,  running  after  them  to  cause  them  to 
come  back  to  their  Mules  and  charges;  this  increased  their  aston- 
ishment, and  hastened  their  pace,  which  aided  by  the  wings  of  fear, 
soon  transported  them  cross  the  fields  to  a  village,  which  they 
allarmed  to  free  the  Countrey  of  highway  men,  so  hideous,  they 
could  be  little  less  then  Devils:  the  other  in  the  mean  time  slipping 
their  cases,  and  perceiving  themselves  masters  of  the  spoils,  the 
muletiers  had  abandoned,  began  to  visit  the  baggage,  and  finding 
Wine,  drank  so  much  they  fell  fast  asleep  till  morning.  The 
Muletiers  after  their  raising  the  Village,  and  bringing  the  Justice 
to  the  place,  perceived  their  mistake,  and  the  Countrey  fellows 
laughing  heartily  at  them,  drank  the  remainder  of  the  Wine  in 
recompence  of  their  trouble.  The  Village  of  the  solemnity,  a  great 
while  waited  for  those  grim  Puppets,  which  came  too  late,  and  by 
their  excuse  and  relation  of  what  had  happened,  disordered  the 
whole  procession,  changing  it  into  a  Ring  of  such  as  abandoned 
the  Cross  and  Banner,  to  hearken  to  their  story.  The  pleasantest 
posture  of  these  Mammelinas  that  I  saw  was,  when  they  made  their 
salutes  before  the  Queens  Balcony,  besides  some  feats  of  activity  by 
address  of  those  that  danced  them.  The  King  passing  by  it,  salutes 
the  Queen  with  a  smile,  and  the  Queen  and  Infanta  rise  a  little 
before  he  comes  at  them,  to  return  his  compliment.  The  Procession 
having  filed  to  the  Piazza,  returns  by  the  High  street  or  Calle 
Mayor,  adorned  by  many  Tapestries  waving  on  the  Balconies, 
filled  with  men  and  women  of  all  conditions :  the  crowd  is  so  great 
one  cannot  pass  without  difficulty,  and  we  had  much  ado  to  return 
to  St  Maries  Church  where  the  procession  ended.  As  soon  as  free 
from  it  we  went  to  the  Palace,  and  there  saw  the  King,  Queen,  and 
Infanta,  return  with  all  the  Court  Ladies.  I  think  I  have  men- 
tioned all  that  is  worth  notice,  unless  it  be  that  as  on  this  day  all 
the  men  put  on  Summer  cloaths,  so  do  all  the  Ladies,  and  those  new 
and  very  rich,  of  several  fashions  and  colours.  In  the  afternoon 
about  five  a  clock,  Autos  are  represented :  these  are  ghostly  Come- 
dies {Comedies  spirituelles) ,  with  interludes,  very  ridiculous  to 
give  rellish  to  what  is  serious  and  tedious  in  the  pieces  themselves. 
The  two  companies  of  Players  that  belong  to  Madrid  at  this 
time,  shut  their  theatres,  and  for  a  month  represent  these  Holy 
Poems:  this  they  do  every  evening  in  publick  on  Scaffolds  erected 
to  that  purpose  in  the  streets  before  the  houses  of  the  Presidents  of 


328  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

several  Councils.  They  begin  at  Court  the  day  of  the  Solemnity, 
when  a  seat  under  a  State  is  provided  for  their  Majesties:  the  Stage 
is  at  the  foot  of  these  Scaffolds,  and  [because,  the  players  act  with 
their  backs  turned_toward  the  crowd,  which  is  in  the  square]  little 
painted  Booths  are  rowled  to  it,  environ  it  [the  stage]  and  serve 
as  tiring  houses  [where  they  dress,  from  which  they  enter  upon  the 
stage  and  to  which  they  retire  at  the  end  of  each  scene].  This  is 
continued  certain  days,  every  President  having  one  [day]  and  a 
Stage  and  Scaffold  erected  before  his  house.  Before  these  Autos 
begin,  all  the  foppery  of  the  Procession  dances,  and  the  Gigantine 
Machines  make  the  people  sport ;  but  what  I  most  admired  in  that 
which  I  saw  at  a  distance  in  the  old  Prado,  is,  that  in  the  streets 
and  open  air  they  use  Torches  to  those  pieces,  which  in  the  daily 
Theaters,  and  within  doors,  they  represent  without  other  light  then 
that  of  the  Sun :  all  these  antick  ceremonies  appeared  much  more 
ridiculous  to  those  that  beheld  them,  then  they  can  possibly  do  in 
my  describing  them,  and  confirm  me  in  what  I  often  observed,  that 
the  Spaniards,  and  other  wise  and  grave  nations  seem  fondest  in 
their  diversions,  as  Misers  at  their  feasts  sometimes  become  most 
prodigal.^ 

In  a  little  work  entitled  Relation  de  I'Estat  &'  Gou- 
vernement  d'Espagne,  printed  at  Cologne  in  1666,  and 
generally  bound  in  the  above-mentioned  Voyage  d'Es- 
pagne, the  author,  Frangois  Bertaut,^  who  accompanied 
the  Marechal  de  Gramont  to  Spain  in  1659,  gives  a  de- 
scription of  the  Madrid  theaters,  which  I  here  copy: 

Concerning  the  Comedia,  there  are  troupes  of  players  in  nearly 
all  the  towns,  and  they  are  better,  in  comparison,  than  our  own, 
but  there  are  none  in  the  pay  of  the  King.  They  represent  in  a 
court-yard,  where  a  number  of  private  houses  join  together,  so 
that  the  windows  of  the  rooms,  which  they  call  rexas,  because  the 
most  of  them  are  provided  with  iron  gratings,  do  not  belong  to 
them  [the  players]  but  to  the  owners  of  the  houses.     They  repre- 

^  A  Journey  into  Spain,  pp.  83-88;  Voyage  d'Espagne,  pp.  118-124. 
'See  the   excellent   Bibliography  of  works   of  Travel   in   Spain   by   R. 
Foulche-Delbosc,  in  the  Revue  Hispanique,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  65,  69. 


MADAME  DE  MOTTEVILLE  329 

sent  by  day  and  without  torches,  and  their  theaters  (except  in  the 
Buen  Retiro,  where  there  are  three  or  four  distinct  salons)  have 
not  such  fine  decorations  as  ours,  but  they  have  an  amphitheater  and 
a  parterre.  There  are  two  places  or  Salles  in  Madrid,  which  they 
call  Corrales,  and  which  are  always  filled  with  merchants  and 
artisans,  who  leave  their  shops  and  repair  thither  with  cloak,  sword, 
and  poniard,  and  who  all  call  themselves  Cavalleros,  even  down  to 
the  cobblers,  and  it  is  these  who  decide  whether  the  comedia  is  good 
or  not.  And  because  they  now  hiss  and  now  applaud  the  play  and 
are  drawn  up  on  both  sides  in  ranks,  and  as  this  is  a  sort  of  salvo, 
they  are  called  Mosqueteros.  It  is  on  these  that  the  fortune  of  the 
author  depends.  .  .  .  Some  of  the  spectators  have  seats  close  to  the 
stage,  which  places  they  preserve  from  father  to  son  like  an  entailed 
estate  {mayorazgo) ,  which  cannot  be  sold  or  pledged,  so  great  a 
passion  have  they  for  the  theater.  The  women  all  sit  together  in  a 
gallery  at  one  end  [of  the  theater] ,  which  the  men  are  not  allowed 
to  enter.^ 

The  Memoirs  de  Madame  de  Motteville  (Frangoise 
Bertaut)  contain  a  letter  written  to  her  from  Madrid,  on 
October  21,  1659,  by  her  brother,  Frangois  Bertaut, 
who,  as  already  noted,  accompanied  the  Marechal  de 
Gramont  on  his  mission  to  Spain  in  reference  to  the 
Peace  of  the  Pyrenees  and  the  marriage  of  Louis  the 
Fourteenth  to  the  Infanta  Maria  Teresa,  daughter  of 
Philip  the  Fourth  of  Spain.  In  this  letter  Bertaut  gives  a 
brief  account  of  a  play  which  he  saw  performed  before  the 
royal  family  at  the  Buen  Retiro : 

The  best  thing  of  all  and  the  most  interesting,  I  reserve  for  the 
last;  it  was  the  comedia  which  was  acted  at  the  palace  by  the  light 
of  six  large  torches  of  white  wax,  contained  in  huge  silver  candle- 
sticks. On  the  two  sides  of  the  room  were  two  alcoves,  closed  by 
a  curtain.  In  one  of  them  were  the  Infantas  and  other  persons  of 
the  palace,  while  in  the  other  one  opposite  was  the  Marechal. 
Along  the  two  sides  were  only  two  long  benches  covered  with 
Persian  carpets.    The  ladies,  to  the  number  of  ten  or  twelve,  took 

*  Relation  de  I'Estat  &  Gouvernement  d'Espagne,  pp.  59,  60. 


330  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

seats  upon  these  carpets  on  both  sides,  their  backs  leaning  against 
the  bench.  Behind  them,  on  the  side  where  the  Infanta  sat,  but 
further  on,  toward  where  the  players  were,  and  almost  behind 
them,  some  gentlemen  were  standing,  and  a  grandee  was  on  the 
side  where  the  Marechal  sat.  The  rest  of  us  Frenchmen  stood 
behind  the  benches  against  which  the  ladies  were  leaning.  The 
King,  Queen,  and  Infanta  entered  after  one  of  the  ladies  who  bore 
a  torch.  As  the  King  entered  he  took  off  his  hat  to  all  these  ladies 
and  then  took  a  seat  in  front  of  a  screen,  the  Queen  on  his  left  and 
the  Infanta  on  the  left  of  the  Queen.  During  the  whole  comedy, 
save  a  single  word  which  he  spoke  to  the  Queen,  the  King  moved 
neither  foot,  hand,  nor  head,  only  casting  his  eyes  about  once  in  a 
while,  nobody  being  near  him  except  a  dwarf.  When  the  comedy 
was  over,  all  the  ladies  arose  and  left  their  places  one  by  one,  assem- 
bling in  the  middle  of  the  room  like  canons  leaving  their  seats  after 
a  service,  and  joining  hands  they  made  their  reverences,  which 
lasted  for  some  minutes ;  then  they  went  out  one  after  another,  while 
the  King  was  still  uncovered.  Finally  he  arose  and  made  a  mod- 
erate bow  {une  reverence  raisonnable)  to  the  Queen,  the  latter 
bowed  to  the  Infanta,  and  taking  one  another  by  the  hand,  as  it 
seemed  to  me,  they  went  out.^ 

In  1679  the  Comtesse  d'Aulnoy  journeyed  through 
Spain,  and  in  her  second  letter,  dated  at  San  Sebastian, 
writes : 

After  I  had  rested  somewhat  from  the  fatigue  of  the  journey,  it 
was  proposed  that  we  go  to  the  comedia.  .  .  .  When  I  entered  the 
theater  there  was  a  cry  of  7nira!  mira!  i.e.,  look !  look !  The  decora- 
tions of  the  theater  were  not  brilliant.  The  stage  was  raised,  rest- 
ing upon  barrels,  over  which  were  boards,  ill  arranged.  The 
windows  were  all  open,  for  they  do  not  use  torches,  and  you  can  im- 

^ Memoirs,  etc.,  Maestricht,  1782,  Vol.  V,  pp.  360,  361.  The  Infanta  was 
Dona  Maria  Teresa,  the  bride  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  the  comedia,  from  the 
fact  that  the  galan  was  an  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  was  probably,  according 
to  Peliicer  (Vol.  I,  p.  192),  La  Conquista  de  Oran,  which  he  ascribes  to 
Lope  de  Vega.  Doubtless  this  is  the  comedia  by  Luis  Velez  de  Guevara, 
La  Conquista  de  Oran,  6  El  Gran  Cardenal  de  Espana  Fray  Francisco 
Jimenez  de  Cisneros,  published  in  Comedias  Escogidas,  Part  XXXV, 
Madrid,  1671.  When  the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterward  Charles  I.,  "under- 
took his  romantic  wooing  journey"  to  Spain  with  Buckingham,  the  con- 
temporary account  of  the  royal  entry  into  Madrid,  on  March  23,  1623, 
informs  us  that:  "in  the  streets  of  the  passage  divers  representations  were 


MADAME  D'AULNOY  331 

agine  how  much  this  detracts  from  the  spectacle.  They  represented 
the  "Life  of  St.  Anthony,"  and  when  the  players  said  anything 
which  pleased  the  audience,  everybody  cried  out  victor!  victor!  I 
learned  that  this  was  the  custom  in  this  country.  I  noticed  that  the 
devil  was  not  dressed  differently  from  the  other  actors,  save  that 
his  hose  were  flame-colored  and  that  he  wore  a  pair  of  horns,  to 
distinguish  him  from  the  rest.  The  comedia  was  in  three  acts,  as 
they  all  are.  At  the  end  of  each  serious  act  they  played  a  farce 
with  some  pleasantries,  in  which  the  gracioso  or  clown  appeared, 
who,  amid  a  great  number  of  dull  jests,  occasionally  uttered  some 
that  were  not  so  bad.  These  interludes  were  mingled  with  dances 
to  the  music  of  harps  and  guitars.  The  actresses  had  castanets  and 
wore  little  hats.  This  is  the  custom  when  they  dance,  and  when 
they  dance  the  Zarabanda,  it  seemed  that  they  did  not  touch  the 
ground,  so  lightly  did  they  glide.  Their  manner  is  quite  different  ^ 
from  ours;  they  move  their  arms  too  much,  and  often  pass  their 
hands  over  their  hats  and  faces  with  a  very  pleasing  grace,  and  they 
play  the  castanets  admirably. 

Moreover,  one  must  not  think  that  these  players — because  San 
Sebastian  is  a  small  place — are  very  different  from  those  of  Madrid. 
I  have  been  told  that  the  King's  players  are  somewhat  better,  for, 
after  all,  they,  too,  play  what  they  call  Comedias  famosas,  that  is, 
the  best  and  most  famous  comedies,  and  in  truth  the  greater  part 
of  them  are  quite  ridiculous.  For  example,  when  St.  Anthony  said 
the  confiteor,  which  was  quite  frequent,  everybody  kneeled,  and 
each  one  gave  himself  such  a  violent  mea  culpa  that  one  thought 
they  would  crush  their  breasts.^ 

In  her  tenth  letter,  written  from  Madrid  on  May  29, 
1679,  Madame  d'Aulnoy  gives  the  following  description 
of  the  opera  of  Alcina,^  which  she  witnessed: 

made  of  the  best  comedians,  dancers  and  men  of  musicke,  to  give  con- 
tentment to  the  Royal  paire  [Charles  and  Philip  IV.]  as  they  passed  it." 
The  scene  is  presented  in  a  rare  German  print  in  the  Grenville  library, 
which  shows  the  players  on  a  rude  platform  or  stage  raised  about  five 
feet  from  the  ground,  with  a  curtain  at  the  back  and  on  the  sides.  (See 
W.  B.  Rye,  England  as  seen  by  Foreigners  in  the  Days  of  Elizabeth  and 
James  I.,  etc.,  London,  1865,  p.  ex.  Also  Nichols,  The  Progress  of  James 
I.,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  824  and  877.) 

^Relation  du  Voyage  d'Espagne,  a  La  Haye,  chez  Henry  van  Bulderen, 
Tome  Premier,  1693,  P-  55- 

'  Founded  on  an  episode  in  the  Orlando  Furioso. 


332  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

I  never  saw  such  wretched  machinery.  The  gods  descended  on 
horseback  upon  a  beam  which  extended  from  one  end  of  the  stage 
to  the  other ;  the  sun  was  h'ghted  up  by  means  of  a  dozen  lanterns 
of  oiled  paper  in  each  of  which  was  a  lamp.  When  Alcina  prac- 
tised her  enchantments  and  evoked  the  demons,  the  latter  arose 
leisurely  out  of  hell  upon  ladders.  The  gracioso  or  clown  made 
countless  rude  jests.  The  musicians  have  rather  good  voices,  but 
sing  too  much  from  the  throat.  Formerly  all  sorts  of  persons  were 
permitted  to  enter  [the  Buen  Retiro,  where  the  opera  of  Alcina 
was  presented  before  the  King],  although  the  King  was  present, 
but  this  custom  is  changed  now  and  only  great  lords,  or  at  least 
titled  persons  or  knights  of  the  three  military  orders,  are  admitted. 
The  building  is  certainly  very  beautiful  and  handsomely  painted  and 
gilded;  the  boxes  are  furnished  with  blinds  {grillees  de  jalousies) 
like  those  we  have  at  the  Opera,  but  they  reach  from  top  to  bottom, 
so  that  they  seem  to  form  a  kind  of  room.  The  side  on  which  the 
King  sits  is  magnificent.  Moreover,  the  finest  comedy  in  the  world, 
I  mean  of  those  which  they  play  in  the  city  [i.e.,  in  the  public 
theaters],  is  often  approved  or  hissed,  according  to  the  caprice  of 
some  wretch. 

At  this  time,  as  already  related,^  the  fate  of  a  new  come- 
dia  on  the  Madrid  boards  generally  depended  upon  the 
whim  of  a  shoemaker. 
The  writer  continues : 

There  is  a  certain  place  in  the  theater,  a  kind  of  amphitheater, 
called  the  cazuela.  Hither  flock  all  the  women  of  a  mediocre 
virtue,  and  all  the  great  lords  also  repair  to  it  to  speak  with  them. 
Sometimes  so  much  noise  is  made  there  that  the  thunder  cannot  be 
heard.  They  say  so  many  witty  things  that  one  almost  dies  of 
laughter,  for  their  vivacity  is  not  restrained  by  good  breeding.'' 

Madame  d'Aulnoy  gives  a  brief  account  of  an  auto  which 
she  saw  represented  in  Madrid  in  June,  1679.  After  de- 
scribing summarily  the  procession  which  always  precedes 

'  See  above,  pp.  121,  122. 

'Relation  du  Voyage  d'Espagne,  La  Haye,  1693,  Tome  III,  p.  21. 


ALONSO  LOPEZ  PINCIANO  333 

the  auto,  she  says  that  the  King  went  to  the  church  of 
Santa  Maria,  near  the  palace,  to  meet  the  procession. 

On  that  day  all  the  ladies  put  on  their  summer  clothes  and  ap- 
pear in  all  their  finery  on  the  balconies,  with  baskets  of  flowers  and 
bottles  of  scented  water,  which  they  throw  down  when  the  pro- 
cession passes.  .  .  .  When  the  Holy  Sacrament,  which  had  been 
carried  in  the  procession,  is  returned  to  the  church,  the  people  repair 
to  their  houses  to  dine  and  then  to  attend  the  auto.  .  .  .  These  are 
tragedies  upon  sacred  subjects,  the  execution  of  which  is  very 
bizarre.  They  are  represented  in  the  yard  or  in  the  street  of  the 
President  of  each  Council,  to  whom  this  is  due.  The  King  comes 
there,  and  all  the  persons  of  quality  receive  tickets  on  the  previous 
evening.  We  were  also  invited,  and  I  was  surprised  that  they 
should  have  lighted  an  extraordinary  number  of  torches  while  the 
sun  was  shining  brightly  on  the  comedians,  and  made  the  candles 
melt  like  butter.  They  played  the  most  absurd  piece  that  I  have 
ever  seen.  Here  is  the  plot  of  it:  The  Knights  of  St.  James  are 
assembled,  and  our  Lord  comes  to  beg  them  to  receive  him  into 
their  order.  There  are  several  who  are  quite  willing,  but  the  elders 
represent  to  the  others  the  wrong  which  they  would  commit  by 
admitting  among  their  number  a  person  of  lowly  birth,  for  St. 
Joseph,  his  father,  was  a  poor  carpenter  and  the  Holy  Virgin  had 
worked  as  a  seamstress.  Our  Lord  awaits  the  decision  with  much 
anxiety,  and  is  at  length  refused,  but  the  Order  of  Christ  is 
finally  instituted  for  him,  and  all  are  satisfied.  This  is  a  Portuguese 
order.  .  .  .  These  autos  last  a  month.^ 

Of  the  character  of  Spanish  audiences  and  of  their  be- 
havior, we  have  already  spoken.  Alonso  Lopez  Pinciano 
gives  an  amusing  account  of  the  scenes  enacted  among  the 
spectators  in  the  Corral  de  la  Cruz  about  1595  or  per- 
haps earlier.  With  his  friends  Ugo  and  Fadrique,  the 
Pincian  had  gone  to  see  a  tragedy  of  Euripides  at  the 
above  theater.  While  waiting  for  the  performance  to 
begin,  Fadrique  says :  "This  is  by  no  means  a  poor  pastime, 
—  for  here  we  can  enjoy  many  and  various  things,  observ- 

'  Ibid.,  p.  55. 


334  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

ing  these  people  gathered  together.  One  throws  a  hand- 
kerchief from  above  into  the  patio,  and  a  seller  of  fruits 
or  confections  picks  it  up,  unties  the  knot  in  the  corner, 
takes  out  the  coin  and,  wrapping  in  it  the  fruit  demanded, 
tosses  it  up  and  perchance  it  alights  in  the  mouth  of  some 
one  for  whom  it  was  not  intended,  who  involuntarily  bites 
into  it— handkerchief  and  all.  Then,  to  watch  the  wran- 
gling over  the  bancos:  this  banco  is  mine;  this  seat 
was  reserved  by  my  servant,  etc.,  and  the  arguments  pro 
and  contra.  To  watch  some  fellow  cross  the  whole  thea- 
ter to  reach  his  seat,  and  see  how  they  shout  at  him  and 
twit  him.  Or  to  see  blows  exchanged  in  the  women's 
gallery  in  a  quarrel  over  a  seat  or  in  a  fit  of  jealousy,"  ^  etc. 
A  very  animated  description  of  the  scenes  in  a  Spanish 
theater  at  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century 
is  given  by  the  dramatist  Juan  de  Zabaleta,  in  his  Dia  de 
Fiesta  por  la  Tarde,  Madrid,  1692,  p.  236  (the  first 
edition  is  of  Zaragoza,  1666).    He  says: 

He  must  dine  hurriedly  at  noon,  who  intends  to  go  to  the 
comedia  in  the  afternoon.  His  anxiety  to  get  a  good  seat  hardly 
permits  him  to  warm  the  chair  at  the  dinner-table.  He  reaches  the 
door  of  the  theater,  and  the  first  thing  he  does  is  to  try  to  enter 
without  paying.  The  first  misfortune  of  players  is  to  work  much 
and  to  have  but  few  persons  pay.  For  twenty  persons  to  enter  on 
three  quartos  would  not  do  much  harm  if  it  were  not  an  occasion 
for  many  others  to  do  the  same.  For  if  only  one  has  not  paid, 
countless  others  will  also  refuse  to  pay.  All  wish  to  enjoy  the 
privilege  of  free  admission  in  order  that  others  may  see  that  they 
are  worthy  of  it.  This  they  desire  with  such  intense  eagerness  that 
they  will  fight  to  obtain  it,  and  by  fighting  they  achieve  their  object. 
Rarely  does  a  man  who  has  once  quarreled  to  avoid  paying  ever 
pay  at  any  subsequent  time.  A  fine  reason  to  quarrel,  in  order  to 
profit  by  the  sweat  of  those  who  labor  to  entertain  one!  And  then, 
because  he  does  not  pay,  will  he  be  easy  to  please?  On  the  con- 
trary, if  a  player  wears  a  poor  costume  he  insults  him  or  hisses  him. 

^  Philosophia  Antigua,  Madrid,  1596,  pp.  529,  53a 


JUAN  DE  ZABALETA  335 

I  should  like  to  know  how  this  fellow  and  those  who  imitate  him 
can  expect  a  player  to  wear  fine  clothes,  when  they  refuse  to  pay 
hinij,^  .  .  Our  idler  moves  on  into  the  theater  and  approaches  the 
person  who  assigns  the  seats  and  benches,  and  asks  for  a  place.^  He 
is  met  with  the  reply  that  there  are  none,  but  that  a  certain  seat 
which  has  been  engaged  has  not  yet  been  occupied,  and  that  he 
should  wait  until  the  guitar-players  appear,  and  if  it  be  still  vacant, 
he  may  then  occupy  it.  Our  man  argues,  but  to  amuse  himself,  in  the 
meanwhile,  he  goes  to  the  dressing-room.  There  he  finds  women 
taking  off  their  street  clothes  and  putting  on  their  theatrical  cos- 
tumes. Some  are  so  far  disrobed  as  though  they  were  about  to 
retire  to  bed.  He  takes  his  place  in  front  of  a  woman  who,  having 
come  to  the  theater  on  foot,  is  having  her  shoes  and  stockings  put 
on  by  her  maid.  This  cannot  be  done  without  some  sacrifice  of 
modesty.  The  poor  actress  must  suffer  this  and  does  not  dare  to 
protest,  for,  as  her  chief  object  is  to  win  applause,  she  is  afraid  to 
offend  any  one.  A  hiss,  no  matter  how  unjust,  discredits  her,  since 
all  believe  that  the  judgment  of  him  who  accuses  is  better  than 
their  own.  The  actress  continues  to  dress,  enduring  his  presence 
with  patience.  The  most  indecorous  woman  on  the  stage  has  some 
modesty  in  the  green-room,  for  here  her  immodesty  is  a  vice,  while 
there  it  is  of  her  profession. 

The  fellow  never  takes  his  eyes  off  her.  .  .  .  He  approaches  the 
hangings  (panos)  to  see  whether  the  doubtful  seat  is  occupied,  and 
finds  it  vacant.  As  it  appears  that  the  owner  will  not  come,  he 
goes  and  takes  the  seat.  Scarcely  has  he  been  seated  when  the 
owner  arrives  and  defends  his  claim.  The  one  already  seated  re- 
sists, and  a  quarrel  ensues.  Did  this  fellow  not  come  to  amuse 
himself,  when  he  left  his  home?  And  what  has  quarreling  to  do 
with  amusement  ?  .  .  .  Finally  the  quarrel  is  adjusted,  and  the  one 
who  has  paid  for  the  seat  yields  and  takes  another  place  which  has 
been  offered  him  by  the  peacemakers.  The  commotion  caused  by 
the  struggle  having  subsided,  our  intruder  is  also  quieted  and  now 
turns  his  eyes  to  the  gallery  occupied  by  the  women  (cazuela), 
carefully  scrutinizing  their  faces  until  he  finds  one  who  particularly 
strikes  his  fancy,  and  guardedly  makes  signs  to  her. 

The  cazuela,  my  dear  sir,  is  not  what  you  came  to  see,  but  the 

*The  sum  paid  at  the  door  (entrada)  only  entitles  the  person  to  admis- 
sion, not  to  a  seat,  for  which  an  extra  sum  must  be  paid. 


336  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

comedia.  .  .  .  He  is  looking  round  in  every  direction,  when  he 
feels  some  one  pull  his  cloak  from  behind.  He  turns  and  sees  a 
fruit-seller,  who,  leaning  forward  between  two  men,  whispers  to 
him  that  the  woman  who  is  tapping  her  knee  with  her  fan  says  that 
she  has  much  admired  the  spirit  which  he  has  shown  in  the  quarrel 
and  asks  him  to  pay  for  a  dozen  oranges  for  her.  The  fellow  looks 
again  at  the  cazuela,  sees  that  the  woman  is  the  one  that  caught  his 
fancy  before,  pays  the  money  for  the  fruit,  and  sends  word  that  she 
may  have  anything  else  she  pleases.  As  the  fruit-seller  leaves,  the 
fellow  immediately  plans  that  he  will  wait  for  the  woman  at  the 
exit;  of  the  theater,  and  he  begins  to  think  that  there  is  an  inter- 
minable delay  in  beginning  the  play.  In  a  loud  and  peevish  manner 
he  signifies  his  disapproval,  exciting  the  mosqueteros,  who  are  stand- 
ing below,  to  break  forth  with  insulting  shouts,  in  order  to  hasten 
the  players.  Why  do  they  do  this  ?  .  .  .  Not  one  of  those  who  are 
shouting  would  run  the  risk  of  saying  a  word  to  a  player  in  the 
street.  And  besides  being  foolish  and  cowardly  to  treat  them  thus, 
it  Is  most  ungrateful,  for  of  all  people  actors  are  those  who  strive 
hardest  to  please.  The  rehearsals  for  a  comedia  are  so  frequent  and 
so  long  that  it  is  often  a  positive  torment.  And  when  the  time  for 
the  first  performance  arrives,  every  one  of  them  would  willingly 
give  a  year's  pay  to  make  a  good  appearance  on  that  day.  And 
when  they  come  upon  the  stage,  what  fatigue,  what  loss  would  they 
not  willingly  undergo  to  acquit  themselves  well  of  their  task?  If 
they  are  to  cast  themselves  from  a  rock  they  do  it  with  the  fear- 
lessness of  despair,  yet  their  bodies  are  human,  and  they  feel  pain 
like  any  other.  And  if  in  a  comedia  a  death-struggle  is  to  be  repre- 
sented, the  actor  to  whose  lot  it  falls  writhes  upon  the  dirty  stage, 
which  is  full  of  projecting  nails  and  splinters,  with  no  more  regard 
for  his  costume  than  if  it  were  the  coarsest  leather,  while  often  it  is 
very  costly.  .  .  .  And  I  have  seen  an  actress  of  great  repute  (who 
died  only  a  short  while  ago)  representing  a  passage  where,  in  a 
rage,  she  tears  a  garment  to  tatters  to  heighten  the  effect  of  her 
acting,  though  the  article  torn  may  cost  twice  as  much  as  the  money 
she  receives  for  the  performance.  .  .  . 

But  women  also  go  to  see  the  comedia.  On  feast-days  men  go  to 
the  play  after  lunching,  but  women  go  before.  The  woman  who 
goes  to  the  comedia  on  a  holiday  generally  makes  it  an  affair  of  a 
whole  day.     She  meets  one  of  her  friends,  and  they  take  a  bite  of 


AMAZONS  IN  THE  STEWPAN  337 

breakfast,  reserving  the  midday  meal  for  the  evening.  Then  they 
go  to  mass,  and  from  the  church  straight  to  the  cazuela  to  get  a 
good  seat.  There  is  no  money-taker  at  the  door  yet.  They  enter 
and  find  a  sprinkling  of  u'omen  as  foolish  as  themselves  already  in 
the  cazuela.  They  avoid  the  front  seats,  for  these  are  for  the 
women  who  come  to  see  and  be  seen ;  so  they  take  a  modest  seat  in 
the  middle.  They  express  their  pleasure  at  having  found  so  com- 
fortable a  place  and  cast  their  eyes  about  for  some  pastime.  Finding 
none,  the  rest  from  the  hurry  of  the  morning  serves  as  a  satisfaction. 
Other  women  enter,  and  some  of  the  more  brazen  sit  by  the  front 
railing  of  the  cazuela,  thus  shutting  out  the  light  from  those  in  the 
middle.  Now  the  merry-making  is  let  loose.  The  money-takers 
enter.  One  of  our  friends  draws  a  handkerchief  from  beneath  the 
folds  of  her  petticoat,  and  with  her  teeth  looses  a  knot  tied  in  the 
corner  of  it,  and  takes  out  a  real  (34  maravedis)  and  asks  for  the 
return  of  ten  maravedis.  While  she  is  doing  this  the  other  takes 
from  her  bosom  a  paper  containing  ten  quartos  (40  maravedis),  and 
hands  her  money  to  the  doorkeeper,  who  passes  on.  The  one  with 
the  ten  maravedis  in  her  hand  now  buys  a  package  of  filberts  for 
two  quartos,  and,  like  a  child,  does  not  know  what  to  do  with  the 
remaining  ochavo  (2  maravedis)  which  she  has  received  in  change; 
finally  she  drops  it  in  her  bosom,  with  the  remark  that  it  is  for  the 
poor.  Now  the  two  friends  begin  to  crack  the  filberts,  and  you  can 
hear  them  munching  them;  but  one  of  the  filberts  is  full  of  dust, 
the  other  contains  a  dry  kernel,  while  another  has  an  oily  taste.  .  .  . 
Now  more  women  are  crowding  in.  One  of  those  who  are  in  front 
makes  signs  to  two  others  who  are  standing  behind  our  two  friends, 
and  without  asking  permission  the  newcomers  pass  between  the  two, 
stepping  on  their  skirts  and  disarranging  their  cloaks,  which  pro- 
vokes the  exclamation:  "Did  you  ever  see  such  rudeness!"  and  they 
begin  to  shake  and  fleck  the  dust  from  their  skirts.  Those  in  the 
front  seats  begin  to  eat  sandwiches,  and  presently  one  of  the  two 
friends  remarks:  "Do  you  see  that  man  down  there  with  grayish 
hair  who  is  taking  a  seat  on  one  of  the  benches  on  the  left?"  etc.  .  .  . 
Here  follows  some  scandal,  for  which  she  is  reproved  by  another 
woman  sitting  near.  .  .  . 

The  cazuela  being  now  full,  the  apretador  enters  (he  is  the  door- 
keeper, who  makes  the  women  sit  closer  so  that  they  may  make  more 
room),   accompanied   by   four   women,   well  dressed   and   thickly 


338  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

veiled,  whom  he  wants  to  accommodate,  for  they  have  given  him 
eight  quartos.  He  approaches  our  friends  and  tells  them  to  sit 
closer;  they  protest;  he  insists,  and  they  reply  that  the  women 
should  have  come  earlier,  when  they  would  have  found  seats. 
Finally  the  newcomers  let  themselves  fall  upon  those  already  seated, 
who,  to  get  away  from  under  them,  unconsciously  make  room. 
There  is  grumbling  on  all  sides,  but  at  last  quiet  is  restored.  .  .  . 
It  is  now  half-past  two  o'clock,  and  the  friends,  who  had  not  dined, 
begin  to  get  hungry.  At  length  one  of  the  women  who  had  been 
accommodated  by  the  apretador  gives  to  our  friends  each  a  handful 
of  prunes  and  some  candied  yolks  of  eggs,  with  the  remark:  "Come, 
let  us  be  friends  and  eat  these  sweets  which  some  booby  gave  me." 
They  begin  to  eat  and  want  to  strike  up  a  conversation,  but  say 
nothing,  as  they  cannot  stop  eating.  Presently  there  is  an  alterca- 
tion at  the  door  of  the  cazuela  between  the  doorkeeper  and  a  num- 
ber of  youths  who  want  some  women  to  enter  free,  and  they  burst 
into  the  cazuela  quarreling.  A  great  commotion  and  uproar  ensues. 
The  women  rise  excitedly,  and  in  their  anxiety  to  avoid  those  who 
are  quarreling  they  fall  over  one  another.  .  .  .  Those  who  rush  up 
from  the  patio  to  lend  aid  or  restore  order  push  into  the  jumbling 
mass  and  bowl  the  women  over.  All  now  take  to  the  corners  as 
the  best  place  in  the  cazuela,  and  some  on  all  fours  and  others  run- 
ning seek  a  place  of  safety.  Finally  the  police  expel  the  men,  and 
every  woman  takes  a  seat  where  she  happens  to  be,  none  occupying 
the  one  she  had  at  first.  One  of  the  two  friends  is  now  on  the 
last  bench,  while  the  other  is  near  the  door.  The  former  has 
lost  her  gloves  and  finds  that  her  gown  is  torn ;  her  friend  is  bleed- 
ing at  the  nose  as  the  result  of  the  scuffle,  and,  having  lost  her  hand- 
kerchief, makes  use  of  her  petticoat.  All  is  lamentation,  when  the 
guitar-players  enter,  and  quiet  is  once  more  restored.  .  .  .^ 

In  no  country,  as  already  observed,  had  the  drama  re- 
ceived greater  encouragement  than  in  Spain,  nor  was  its 
popularity  limited  to  any  one  class,  but  all,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  favored  and  supported  it.  As  de- 
veloped and  perfected  by  the  great  Phenix,  Lope  de  Vega, 

^  Obras  de  D.  Juan  de  Zabalela,  Madrid,  1692,  "El  Dia  de  Fiesta  por  la 
Tarde,"  pp.  296  flF. 


SPANISH  PLAYERS  ABROAD  339 

it  was  a  genuine  product  of  the  Spanish  soil.  Whatever 
its  subject-matter,  whether  mythology,  history,  or  legend, 
all  was  translated  into  the  Spain  of  the  day;  its  characters 
not  only  spoke  Spanish,  but  they  were  Spaniards  in  every 
vein  and  fiber.  In  a  word,  it  was  truly  national  in  char- 
acter, and  herein  lies  one  of  the  chief  glories  of  the 
Spanish  drama,  which  is  shared  only  by  England  among 
the  countries  of  modern  Europe.  Such  a  rapid  and 
extraordinary  development  of  the  drama  necessitated  a 
vast  number  of  players  for  its  exposition,  and  the  names 
of  nearly  two  thousand  actors  have  come  down  to  us, 
who,  from  the  rude  beginnings  of  Lope  de  Rueda  upon 
an  improvised  stage  in  the  public  square,  to  the  magnificent 
and  costly  entertainments  of  Philip  the  Fourth  in  the  Buen 
Retiro,  represented  the  uninterrupted  productions  of  the 
Spanish  Muse,  from  the  simple  pasos,  eglogas,  and  farsas 
to  the  great  masterpieces  of  Lope  de  Vega  and  his  host 
of  followers.  And  yet,  great  as  was  the  number  of 
Spanish  players,  they  seem  to  have  limited  their  sphere 
of  action  almost  exclusively  to  their  own  country  or  to 
the  Spanish  possessions  in  Italy.  During  the  long  occu- 
pation of  the  Netherlands  by  Spain  the  Spanish  language 
gained  great  currency  through  that  country,^  and  Spanish 
players  certainly  visited  the  Netherlands  frequently.^ 
Our  information  as  to  their  journeys  in  the  remaining 
countries  of  Europe  is  also  very  slight  when  compared 
with  the  records  left  by  the  many  companies  of  traveling 
players  from  England  and  Italy  during  the  latter  part  of 

*  "In  de  zestiende  en  zeventiende  eeuw  was  de  Spaansche  taal  in  ons 
vaterland  bijna  zoo  gemeenzaam  als  tegenwoordig  de  Fransche."  (Geys- 
beek,  Anthologisch  en  Critisch  JVoordenboek,  Bd.  Ill,  quoted  by  Schwe- 
ring,  Zur  Geschichte  des  niederldndischen  und  spanischen  Dramas  in 
Deutschland,  Miinster,  1895,  p.  76.) 

*  I  have  been  unable  to  consult  the  following  article,  which  may  contain 
some  information  on  this  point:  Te  Winkel,  "De  invloed  der  Spaansche 
Letterkunde  op  de  Nederlandsche  in  de  zeventiende  eeuw,"  in  the  Tijd- 
schrift  voor  Nederlandsche  Taal-  en  Letterkunde,  Eerste  Jaargang,  Leiden, 
i88i,  S.  59.  Melchor  de  Leon  seems  to  have  been  in  Brussels  with  his  com- 
pany in  1629.    See  Appendix, — List  of  Actors  and  Actresses. 


340  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

the  sixteenth  and  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  centuries. 
The  earliest  notice  of  Spanish  players  abroad  that  I  have 
found  falls  in  the  year~i6o4.  On  August  2  of  that  year 
a  Spanish  actress  was  found  murdered  at  Saint-Germaln- 
des-Pres,  and  two  Spanish  actors  were  convicted  of  the 
crime  and  executed.^  Some  Spanish  players  also  ap- 
peared at  the  Port  Saint-Germain  on  October  27,  161 3, 
but  met  with  no  success.^  A  company  also  visited  Paris 
in  161 8,  but  we  know  nothing  further  about  them.^  In 
1643  Pedro  de  la  Rosa  and  his  company  visited  Paris, 
and  returned  thither  in  1674,  and  in  1660  Sebastian  de 
Prado  took  a  troupe  of  players  to  Paris  at  the  instance 
of  Maria  Teresa,  daughter  of  Philip  IV.  and  wife  of 
Louis  XIV.,  whom  she  had  married  the  previous  year. 
Some  members  of  this  company  are  said  to  have  re- 
mained in  France  twelve  years;  Prado  certainly  did  not, 
for  we  find  him  in  Spain  in  the  following  year.  In  i666 
we  again  hear  of  Spanish  players  who  gave  a  Ballet  des 
Muses  at  Saint-Germain-en-Laye  on  December  2,  among 
them  Jeronima  de  Olmedo  and  Maria  de  Anaya.* 

The  only  record  of  the  visit  of  a  Spanish  company  to 
London  has   already  been   mentioned    (above,   p.    139, 

^  Memoires  et  Journal  de  Pierre  de  I'Estoile,  ed.  Michaud  et  Poujolat, 
Paris,  1857,  p.  378.  See  Rigal,  Le  Theatre  Franqa'ts  avant  la  periode 
'   classique,  Paris,  1901,  p.  50,  note  3. 

^  In  a  letter  dated  October  27,  1613,  Malherbe  says:  "Je  viens  tout  a 
cette  heure  de  la  comedie  des  Espagnols,  qui  ont  aujourd'hui  commence  a 
jouer  a  la  porte  Saint-Germain  dans  le  faubourg;  ils  ont  fait  des  mer- 
veilles  en  sottises  et  impertinences,  et  n'y  a  eu  personne  qui  ne  s'en  soit 
revenu  avec  mal  de  tete ;  mais  pour  une  fois  il  n'y  a  point  eu  de  mal  de 
savoir  ce  que  c'est.  Je  suis  de  ceux  qui  s'y  sont  excellemment  ennuyes," 
etc.  {Lettres  de  Malherbe,  ed.  Lalanne  {Grands  Ecrivains),  Paris,  1862, 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  350.)  And  in  a  letter  of  November  24  (p.  358)  he  remarks: 
"Les  Espagnols  ne  plaisent  a  personne;  ils  jouent  au  faubourg  Saint- 
Germain,  mais  ils  ne  gagnent  pas  le  louage  du  jeu  de  paume  ou  ils 
jouent." 

* Memoires  du  Marechal  de  Bassompierre,  ed.  Petitot,  Tome  XX,  Paris, 
1822,  p.  157,  who  merely  remarks:  "Nous  eumes  les  comedies  espagnoles 
cet  hiver-Ia." 

*Rouanet,  Intermides  Espagnols,  Paris,  1897,  P-  3i<5,  quoting  FourncI, 
Les  Coniemporains  de  Molikre,  Tome  II. 


DECLINE  OF  THE  DRAMA  341 

note  I ) ,  when  Juan  Navarro  Oliver  represented  a  play 
before  the  King  on  December  23,  1635,  for  which  he  re- 
ceived ten  pounds. 

But  great  as  the  popularity  of  the  drama  was  in  Spain, 
and  rapid  as  was  its  rise,  its  decline  and  fall  were  almost 
equally  rapid,  and  by  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury it  was  clearly  on  the  wane.  Indeed,  a  change  is 
perceptible  a  decade  earlier.  The  death  of  the  great 
founder  of  the  national  drama.  Lope  Je  Vega,  in  1635, 
withdrew  from  it  a  support  which  caused  the  magnificent 
structure  to  waver.  By  the  middle  of  the  century  all  the 
greatest  dramatists,  with  the  single  exception  of  Calderon, 
were  dead.  Guillen  de  Castro  died  in  1631;  Alarcon's 
death  occurred  in  1639,  followed  by  Mira  de  Mescua  in 
1644.  Tirso  de  Molina  died  in  1648,  although  he  had 
ceased  to  write  for  the  stage  even  before  Lope's  death. 
Of  the  lesser  lights  of  the  drama,  Montalvan  died  in 
1638,  and  Luis  Velez  de  Guevara  in  1644.  All  these  had 
passed  from  the  stage  of  life,  and  Calderon  alone,  of 
those  who  had  helped  to  rear  the  imposing  fabric  of  the 
drama,  was  still  writing  comedias  after  the  middle  of  the 
century,  and  even  of  his  followers,  Rojas  and  Moreto  had 
written  their  best  plays  by  that  time.  No  great  Spanish 
comedia  dates  after  1650.  And  here,  once  more,  at  the 
close  as  at  the  beginning,  the  Spanish  national  drama 
exhibits  a  striking  parallel  to  the  English,  which  had  also 
produced  all  that  was  best  in  it  before  the  closing  of  the 
theaters  in  1642. 

That  the  Spanish  theater  was  on  the  decline  by  1650, 
a  glance  at  the  list  of  the  great  leaders  of  the  theatrical 
companies  convincingly  shows.  The  older  ones,  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  great  renascence  under  the  magical 
touch  of  Lope — Velazquez,  Cisneros,  Rios,  Porres,  An- 
tonio de  Villegas,  Vergara,  Melchor  de  Villalba,  etc. — 
had  long  been  dead,  while  those  who  shared  in  the  greatest 
glory  of  the  stage — Baltasar  Pinedo,   Domingo  Balbin, 


342  THE  SPANISH  STAGE 

Cristobal  Ortiz  de  Villazan,  Alonso  de  Riquelme,  Cristo- 
bal de  Avendano,  Tomas  Fernandez  de  Cabredo,  Manuel 
Vallejo,  Antonio  Granados,  Pedro  de  Valdes,  Hernan 
Sanchez  de  Vargas,  and  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano— had 
also  passed  away,  and  Antonio  de  Prado,  Alonso  de 
Olmedo,  and  Roque  de  Figueroa  all  died  in  1651.  Those 
who  were  left,  like  the  surviving  dramatists,  were  but  the 
smaller  lights  that  still  shone  for  a  while  in  the  glow  cast 
behind  them  as  the  great  stars  one  by  one  disappeared  be- 
neath the  horizon. 

And  it  was,  perhaps,  not  unfitting  that  this  should  be  so. 
These  famous  autores  had  been  the  friends  and  associates 
of  the  great  poets  who  created  this  vast  and  wonderful 
drama;  for  particular  players  of  their  companies  many  of 
the  most  celebrated  comedias  had  been  written;  the  re- 
hearsals were  often  conducted  in  the  presence  of  the  poet, 
and  the  parts  perfected  under  his  eye.  For  them  the 
business  of  the  stage  was  an  actual  and  living  thing,  not 
a  dead  and  dry  tradition.  But  the  sun  had  set,  and  while 
one  great  star  was  still  refulgent  in  the  gathering  gloom, 
it  was  only  a  question  of  a  little  while  when  it,  too,  should 
disappear,  and  all  be  enveloped  in  darkness. 


APPENDIX  A 


REPRESENTATIONS  IN  THE  CORRALES  OF  MADRID, 

1579-1602. 

(From  an  article  by  Sr.  Perez  Pastor,  in  the  Bulletin  Hispanique  (1906).) 

1579 

Producto  de  comedias  para  el  Hospital  civil  de  la  Pasion  desde 
JO  de  Mayo  de  1579  hasta  31  de  Diciembre  de  el: 

Mayo.— "En  treinta  de  Mayo  de  1579  anos  se  nombro  por 
comisario  de  las  comedias  al  senor  Francisco  de  Prado  el  qual  ha 
de  usar  desta  comision  desde  7  de  Junio  del  dicho  ano  por  dexacion 
que  hizo  dello  Luis  de  Barahona,  comisario  que  fue  de  las  dichas 
comedias  hasta  este  dicho  dia." 

Junio. — "En  7  dia  del  mes  de  Junio  del  dicho  ano  estando  en 
el  Hospital  de  la  Sagrada  Pasion  juntos  en  su  cabildo  D.  Alonso 
Enriquez,  Pedro  de  Ledesma  y  Gonzalo  de  Monzon,  diputados,  y 
Juan  Lopez  y  Pedro  Alvarez  de  Casasola  y  Caspar  de  la  Torre 
y  Valdivieso  y  Juan  Diaz,  cofrades,  Francisco  de  Prado,  comisario 
de  las  comedias,  dixo  que  Francisco  Osorio,  autor  de  comedias,  ha 
venido  a  esta  corte  y  le  ha  pedido  le  de  corral  en  que  represente  sus 
comedias,  y  que  el  le  ha  senalado  el  corral  de  Valdivieso,  y  que  el 
dicho  Francisco  Osorio  se  ha  obligado  a  hacer  el  teatro  y  dos 
tablados  a  los  lados  a  su  costa  y  que  el  aprovechamiento  dellos  sea 
para  los  Hospitales  sin  que  se  les  descuente  cosa  alguna,  y  demas 
desto  le  da  el  dicho  Francisco  Osorio  diez  reales  cada  dia  que 
representare  y  destos  diez  reales  se  dan  siete  reales  a  la  de 
Valdivieso  cada  dia  que  se  representare,  y  hoy  dicho  dia  es  el 
primero  que  representa  el  dicho  Osorio  y  que  ansi  mesmo  halla  que 
en  el  corral  de  la  Pacheca  esta  Salcedo  y  en  el  de  Puente  Ganasa 
que  ansi  mesmo  representan  hoy  dicho  dia  y  firmaron  de  sus 
nombres. — Juan  Lopez — Gonzalo  de  Monzon." 

343-  345 


346  APPENDIX  A 

"El  di'cho  Osorio  comediante  represento  en  el  dicho  corral  de 
la  de  Valdivieso  segundo  y  tercero  dia  de  Pascua  que  fueron  a  los 
ocho  y  nueve  de  Junio  del  dicho  ano  y  por  respeto  de  la  poca  gente 
que  tuvo  no  hubo  aprovechamiento  ninguno  mas  de  los  diez  reales 
que  dio  del  corral,  de  los  quales  de  los  dichos  dos  dias  se  dieron  a 
la  de  Valdivieso  catorce  reales  y  quedaron  seis  y  cupo  a  esta  casa 
quatro,  los  quales  se  metieron  con  la  quenta  de  Salcedo  y  el  susdicho 
Osorio  se  fue  luego  sin  representar  mas. — Francisco  dc  Prado — 
Gonzalo  de  Monzon." 

Domingo  7  de  Junio  de  1579  representaron  Ganasa  y  Salcedo, 
y  el  Hospital  de  la  Pasion  tuvo  de  aprovechamiento  de  las  dos 
comedias  221  reales  y  10  maravedises  de  las  dos  tercias  partes  que  le 
pertenecen. 

En  8  de  Junio  segundo  dia  de  pascua,  156  reales  y  12  maravedis 
de  las  comedias  de  Ganasa  y  Salcedo. 

En  8  de  Junio  pago  Ganasa  20  reales  de  las  representaciones  de 
los  dias  I**  y  2°  de  Pascua. 

En  9  de  Junio  195  reales  y  10  maravedises  de  las  comedias  que 
en  dicho  dia  hicieron  Ganasa  y  Salcedo. 

1 1  de  Junio.     Representaron  Ganasa  y  Salcedo. 

14  de  Junio,  domingo  de  la  Trinidad.  Representaron  Ganasa  y 
Salcedo. 

"Jueves  dia  del  Corpus  Christi  diez  y  ocho  del  mes  de  Junio  de 
1579  anos,  de  pedimento  de  Francisco  de  Prado,  vecino  desta  villa 
de  Madrid,  comisario  nombrado  para  los  aprovechamientos  que 
procedieren  de  las  comedias  tocantes  al  Hospital  de  la  Pasion  desta 
corte,  yo  el  presente  escribano  fui  al  corral  de  Puente,  que  es  en 
la  calle  del  Lobo,  donde  representa  hasta  ahora  Ganasa,  italiano,  y 
al  corral  de  la  Pacheca  para  ver  si  habia  representacion  e  pidio 
por  testimonio  como  no  habia  representacion  en  el  un  corral  ni  en 
el  otro  porque  Ganasa  es  ido  a  Toledo  y  Salcedo  tiene  las  fiestas  del 
Corpus  que  se  hicieron  hoy  en  esta  villa,  y  de  su  pedimento  doy 
fee  que  hoy  dicho  dia  d  las  quatro  de  la  tarde  al  punto  fui  a  los 
dichos  corrales  y  no  habia  gente  en  ellos  y  estaban  vacios  de  manera 
que  se  entiende  no  haber  comedias  este  dia,  y  yo  el  presente  escri- 
bano doy  fee  que  en  la  sala  de  los  senores  alcaldes  de  la  casa  y  corte 
de  su  Magestad  anteayer  martes  de  manana  se  dixo  que  por  man- 
dado  de  su  Magestad  llevaban  a  Toledo  al  dicho  Ganasa  y  sus 
companeros  para  la  fiesta  de  hoy  dicho  dia  y  ansi  por  mandado  de 


APPENDIX  A  347 

los  dichos  senores  alcaldes  se  les  dieron  mulas  para  el  dicho  efecto, 
y  doy  fee  que  el  dicho  Salcedo  ha  fecho  hoy  las  fiestas  desta  villa, 
y  de  pedimento  del  dicho  Francisco  de  Prado  lo  firme  y  signe. — 
Diego  Verdugo  de  Leon." 

En  21  de  Junio  de  1579  Francisco  de  Prado  hace  saber  a  los 
diputados  de  la  Pasion  que  Ganasa  no  ha  vuelto  de  Toledo,  ni  sabe 
quando  vendra  Salcedo  y  que  no  hay  comedias  en  la  corte. 

En  24  de  Junio  Ganasa,  vuelto  ya  de  Toledo,  represento  en  el 
corral  de  Puente. 

En  28  y  29  Junio  represento  Ganasa  en  el  corral  de  la  Pacheca. 

Julio,  2. — "Yo  Alonso  de  Robles,  escribano  de  su  majestad  en  la 
su  corte,  doy  fee  que  Ganasa,  italiano,  represento  en  el  corral  de  la 
Pacheca  hoy  Jueves  dos  del  mes  de  Julio  deste  ano  de  setenta  y 
nueve  dia  de  trabajo,  y  que  en  la  dicha  representacion  declare  que 
se  le  habia  dado  licencia  de  representar  dos  dias  en  la  semana  por 
los  Senores  del  Consejo  de  su  Magestad,  y  en  fee  de  ello  di  esta  el 
dicho  dia  mes  y  ano  de  pedimento  de  Francisco  de  Prado  y  lo  firme 
de  mi  nombre. — Alonso  de  Robles,  escribano." 

5  de  Julio,  Domingo.  Represento  Ganasa  en  la  Pacheca.  {Id. 
martes  7  Julio.) 

"Domingo  12  de  Julio.  Represento  Cisneros  en  el  corral  de  la 
calle  del  Lobo,  que  es  el  de  Puente,  y  fue  la  primera  representacion 
que  hizo  en  Madrid  despues  que  salio  de  la  corte." 

En  el  mismo  dia  represento  Ganasa  en  el  corral  de  la  Pacheca. 

16  de  Julio.     Represento  Ganasa  en  la  Pacheca. 

22  de  Julio.  Representaron  Ganasa  y  Cisneros  cada  uno  una 
comedia.     {Id.  25  y  domingo  26.) 

28  y  30.    Ganasa. 

Agosto. — Domingo  2.    Ganasa  y  Cisneros.     {Id.  5,  6,  9  y  10.) 

15  Agosto.  Alonso  Rodriguez,  el  Toledano,  represento  en  el 
corral  de  Puente  porque  Cisneros  no  estaba  en  la  corte.  Repre- 
sento tambien  Ganasa  en  la  Pacheca. 

Domingo  16  de  Agosto.  Represento  Ganasa.  No  hubo  repre- 
sentacion en  el  corral  de  Cristobal  de  Puente  por  no  haber  autor 
en  Madrid. 

18  de  Agosto  de  1579.  No  hubo  representacion  en  la  Pacheca 
por  estar  fuera  de  Madrid  los  italianos,  ni  en  el  corral  de  Puente 
por  no  haber  autor  en  Madrid. 

20  Agosto.    Represento  Ganasa  en  la  Pacheca. 


348  APPENDIX  A 

Domingo  23.    Representaron  Ganasa  y  Cisneros.    {Id.  24.) 

27  de  Agosto.  No  hubo  representacion  en  la  calle  del  Lobo 
porque  Cisneros  estaba  ausente,  ni  en  el  de  la  Pacheca  porque 
Ganasa  no  quiso  representar  al  ver  que  habia  poca  gente  en  el 
corral,  y  se  devolvio  el  dinero  a  las  personas  que  habian  entrado. 

30  Agosto.  Represento  Ganasa  en  la  Pacheca  y  hubo  un  voltea- 
dor  en  la  calle  del  Lobo. 

Setiembre. — En  6  de  Setiembre  de  1579  represento  Velazquez  la 
primera  vez  de  esta  temporada  en  el  corral  de  Puente ;  y  los  dias 
anteriores  no  hubo  representacion  porque  la  licencia  que  se  dio  a 
los  autores  para  representar  dos  dias  de  trabajo  fue  solamente  para 
los  meses  de  Julio  y  Agosto.  En  el  mismo  dia  represento  Ganasa 
en  la  Pacheca. 

8  de  Setiembre.  Hubo  dos  comedias  una  de  Ganasa  y  otra  de 
Velazquez. 

10  de  Setiembre.     Represento  Velazquez.     {Id.  i^.) 

13  de  Setiembre.     Ganasa  y  Velazquez. 

17  de  Setiembre.  Represento  Ganasa  aunque  fue  dia  de  trabajo 
y  es  la  primera  vez  que  lo  hace  en  este  mes. 

20  de  Setiembre,  Domingo.  Hubo  comedia  de  Ganasa  y  de 
Velazquez.     {Id.  21  y  24.) 

27.  Velazquez  en  la  calle  del  Lobo.  En  el  corral  de  la  Pacheca 
hubo  mucha  gente  y  mucha  mas  en  la  calle  esperando  la  repre- 
sentacion que  no  se  hizo  porque  Juan  Alberto  Ganasa  no  habia 
tenido  licencia  para  ello. 

29.     Ganasa  y  Velazquez. 

Octubre. —  lO.     Ganasa  y  Velazquez.     {Id.  4,  6,  8  y  ii.) 

13.     Ganasa  en  la  Pacheca.    Velazquez  estaba  fuera  de  Madrid. 

15.  No  hubo  representacion  en  la  Pacheca  "por  lo  mucho  que 
llovio." 

1 8  y  20.     Ganasa. 

22.     "No  hubo  comedia  a  causa  de  los  toros  que  hubo." 

25  Octubre.    Represento  por  primera  vez  en  el  corral  de  Puente 

Rivas,   maestro   de  comedias  y  no   represento  mas  que   este   dia. 

Ganasa  represento  en  la  Pacheca. 

28  y  29.     Ganasa. 

Noviembre.  —  Domingo  1°.  Represento  Ganasa.  {Id.  3,  7,  8, 
10,  12,  15.) 

18.     Ganasa  y  Salcedo  ( i*''  dia).      {Id.  Domingo  22.) 


APPENDIX  A  349 

24  y  26.     Ganasa. 

Domingo  29.     Ganasa,  Salcedo  y  Granado. 

"Yo  Francisco  de  Olea  doy  fee  .  .  .  en  como  hoy  domingo  29 
dias  del  mes  de  Noviembre  de  1579  anos  fue  el  primero  dia  que  se 
represento  en  el  corral  que  las  cofradias  de  la  Sagrada  Pasion  y 
Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Soledad  tienen  en  esta  dicha  villa  en  la  calle 
de  la  Cruz,  en  el  qual  asi  mismo  represento  la  primera  vez  Juan 
Granado  e  Galvez,  autores  de  comedias,  esta  ultima  vez  que  vinle- 
ron  a  esta  corte  sin  que  hubiesen  representado  en  el  ni  en  otro  corral 
donde  se  acostumbra  hacer  las  dichas  comedias  otra  vez  desta 
postrera  venida  .  .  .  Francisco  de  Olea." 

Lunes  30  de  Noviembre.  Representaron  Ganasa,  Salcedo  y 
Granado. 

Diciembre. — 3.     Represento  Ganasa. 

Domingo  6.     Ganasa,  Salcedo  y  Granado. 

8.  Ganasa  y  Velazquez.  En  este  dia  se  notifico  a  Cristobal  de 
Puente  dueno  del  corral  de  la  calle  del  Lobo,  que  tenian  al- 
quilado  las  cofradias,  que  cesaba  este  arrendamiento  y  que  los 
asientos,  tablados  y  pertrechos  que  a  costa  de  las  cofradias  se  habian 
hecho  en  dicho  corral  se  transladarian  al  nuevo  teatro  de  la  calle  de 
la  Cruz  ya  por  evitar  gastos  ya  tambien  porque  Francisco  Salcedo, 
que  representaba  en  la  calle  del  Lobo,  se  ha  ausentado. 

10.  No  hubo  representacion  en  ningun  corral  por  haber  llovido 
mucho. 

13.     Representaron  Ganasa  y  Granado. 

17.  Representaron  Ganasa  y  Granado  y  fue  la  primera  vez  que 
se  represento  por  Granado  en  la  Cruz  en  dia  de  trabajo. 

1 8.  Ganasa  en  la  Pacheca  y  Granado  en  la  Cruz. 

20.  Ganasa  y  Granado. 

21.  Ganasa. 

22  y  23.     Granado. 

25  y  26.     Granado  y  Ganasa. 

Domingo  27.  No  representaron  los  Italianos  ni  Granado  en  los 
corrales  publicos  porque  lo  hicieron  a  los  senores  del  Consejo  de 
S.  M. 

28.  Ganasa  y  Granado. 

29.  Se  dio  licencia  a  Granado  y  Galvez  para  que  pudiesen  rep- 
resentar  todos  los  dias  hasta  el  de  Reyes  proximo. 

29  y  30.     Represento  Granado  en  el  corral  de  la  Cruz. 


350  APPENDIX  A 

31.  Ganasa  en  la  Pacheca  "y  no  represento  Granado  en  la 
Cruz."  {Archivo  de  la  Diputacion  provincial  de  Madrid.  Libros 
de  cuentas  del  Hospital  de  la  Pasion,  VII,  1 15,  2.) 

— "Razon  puntual  de  la  ejecucion  del  corral  de  la  Cruz  para  las 
comedias  el  ano  1579":  Empezo  la  obra  el  13  de  Octubre  de  1579 
per  cuenta  de  las  dos  obras  plas,  la  Sagrada  Pasion  y  Nuestra 
Senora  de  la  Soledad.  El  edificio  y  gastos  del  mismo  estuvieron  a 
cargo  de  Getino  de  Guzman,  fiador  que  habia  sido  de  D*  Leonor  de 
Cortinas  para  el  rescate  de  Miguel  de  Cervantes. 


1580 

Cargo  de  las  comedias  del  ano  1580  para  el  Hospital  de  la 
Pasion: 

Enero. — En  1°  de  Enero  hubo  representacion  por  Ganasa.  {Id. 
3,  5,  6.)  10.  Granado.  12.  Ganasa.  14.  Ganasa  y  Granado. 
{Id.  17  y  20.)  23.  Cisneros  y  Ganasa.  24.  Ganasa  y  Granado. 
{Id.  26  y  27.)  28.  Empezo  Cisneros  a  representar  en  el  corral  de 
Puente  que  habia  estado  desbaratado;  y  ademas  trabajaron  hasta 
Carnestolendas  Granado  en  la  Cruz  y  Ganasa  en  la  Pacheca.  29. 
Cisneros  y  Granado.    31.  Cisneros,  Granado  y  Ganasa. 

Febrero. — 3.  Cisneros  y  Granado.  4.  Cisneros,  Granado  y 
Ganasa.  5.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz.  7.  Cisneros,  Granado  y  Ga- 
nasa. 8.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz  y  dio  "para  ayuda  de  costa  del 
corral"  200  reales  que  le  correspondian  de  su  aprovechamiento  como 
autor.  9.  Ganasa  y  Granado  (Cisneros  se  habia  ido  a  Alcala  de 
Henares).  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15  y  16.  Ganasa  y  Granado.  17, 
miercoles  de  Ceniza.    Se  suspenden  las  representaciones. 

Septiembre. —  1 1.  Empezo  a  representar  Rivas  en  la  Pacheca. 
12.  Rivas.  14.  Empieza  Cisneros  en  la  Pacheca.  15  a  25.  Cis- 
neros.    26,  28.  No  hubo  representacion.     27,  29  y  30.  "Cisneros. 

Octubre. —  1°  a  10,  16  a  19.  Cisneros.  20  a  22.  No  hubo 
comedia.  23  a  25.  Represento  Juan  Granado.  26.  No  hubo 
comedia.  27.  Granado.  28.  Juan  Granado  y  Alonso  Rodri- 
guez. Se  suspenden  las  representaciones  por  muerte  de  la  Reina 
D*  Ana.     {Archivo  de  la  Diputacion  provincial,  VII,  115,  2.) 


APPENDIX  A  351 

1581 

Cargo  de  las  comedlas  del  ano  1581  para  el  Hospital  de  la  Pasion 
y  cof radio  de  la  Soledad  : 

30  noviembre  1581. — Ganasa  represento  en  la  Cruz  y  fue  el 
primer  dia  que  hubo  comedia  despues  de  la  muerte  de  la  Reina 
Ana.  "Y  de  todo  el  aprovechamiento  de  la  comedia,  sin  la  repre- 
sentacion,  se  allegaron  ducientos  y  setenta  reales  y  medio  de  que 
cupo  a  la  cof  radia  de  la  Soledad  de  la  tercia  parte  que  lleva  noventa 
reales  y  cinco  maravedis,  y  a  la  Pasion  le  cupo  de  sus  dos  tercias 
partes  ciento  y  ochenta  reales  y  doce  maravedis." 

Diciembre. — 3.  No  represent©  Ganasa  en  el  teatro  de  la  Cruz 
porque  lo  hizo  al  Consejo  de  Cruzada  en  casa  del  Comisario  ge- 
neral; Galvez  represento  en  el  corral  de  la  Pacheca  "la  primera 
comedia  que  en  este  ano  hizo."  4.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz.  5,  7,  8. 
Ganasa  en  la  Cruz  y  Galvez  en  la  Pacheca.  10.  Id.  "Este  dia 
represento  Alonso  Rodriguez,  el  de  Toledo,  la  primera  farsa  en  el 
corral  de  Puente  y  envio  de  todo  aprovechamiento,  con  la  repre- 
sentacion,  54  reales."  12,  14  y  16.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz,  y  Galvez 
en  la  Pacheca.  17,  18.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz,  Galvez  en  la  Pacheca, 
y  Rodriguez  en  el  Puente.  19,  20  y  21.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz,  y 
Galvez  en  la  Pacheca.  22.  Granado  en  la  Pacheca.  23.  Saldana 
en  la  Cruz.  24.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz,  Galvez  en  la  Pacheca  y  Sal- 
dana, por  primera  vez,  en  el  corral  de  Puente.  25.  Ganasa,  Gal- 
vez y  Saldana  en  la  Cruz,  Pacheca  y  Puente.  26.  Saldana  en  la 
Cruz,  Galvez  en  la  Pacheca,  Ganasa  represento  al  presidente  del 
Consejo.  27  y  28.  Ganasa,  Galvez  y  Saldana.  29.  Saldana.  30. 
Ganasa,  Galvez  y  Saldana.  31.  Ganasa  y  Galvez.  "No  repre- 
sent© Saldana  porque  el  y  su  compania  estuvieron  en  la  Cruz 
viendo  a  los  Italianos."  {Archivo  de  la  Diputacion,  VII,  115,  2, 
y59,  2,  XII,  17.) 

1582 

Cargo  de  las  comedias  del  ano  1582  para  el  Hospital  de  la  Pasion 
y  cof  radia  de  la  Soledad : 

Enero. —  i.  Representaron  Ganasa,  Galvez  y  Saldana.  2.  Gal- 
vez. 3  y  4.  Ganasa  y  Galvez,  5.  Saldana  en  la  Pacheca.  6. 
Ganasa,  Galvez  y  Saldana.  7.  Ganasa  y  Galvez.  8.  Saldana  en 
la  Cruz.     Galvez  y  Juan  Granado  salieron  para  Valladolid.     9. 


352  APPENDIX  A 

Ganasa  en  la  Cruz.  lO.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz.  ii.  Ganasa  en  la 
Cruz.  12.  Saldana  en  la  Pacheca.  14.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz.  No 
representaron  los  Italianos  por  estar  enfermos  algunos  de  ellos. 
15.  Saldana  en  la  Pacheca,  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz  "y  fue  su  primera 
representacion."  16.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz,  "que  es  el  de  las  obras 
pias";  Saldana  en  la  Pacheca.  17.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  20. 
Velazquez  en  la  Cruz,  Saldana  en  la  Pacheca.  No  representaron 
los  Italianos  en  la  Cruz  por  estar  en  Guadalajara  a  la  boda  de 
D.  Rodrigo  de  Mendoza.^  21.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz,  Velazquez  en 
la  Pacheca.  22.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  23.  Velazquez  en  la 
Cruz,  Saldana  en  la  Pacheca.  24.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz.  25. 
Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  26.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz.  28  y  29.  Sal- 
dana en  la  Cruz,  Velazquez  en  la  Pacheca.  30.  Velazquez  en  la 
Cruz.     31.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz. 

Febrero. — 2.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz.  4.  No  hubo  representaciones 
por  la  procesion  general  para  recoger  los  pobres  mendigos  en  el 
Hospital  general.  5.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  6.  Ganasa  en  la 
Cruz  "y  fue  la  primera  que  hizo  despues  que  vino  de  Guadalajara." 
7.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz.  8.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz.  9.  Velazquez  en 
la  Cruz.  10.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz.  ii.  Domingo.  Velazquez 
en  la  Pacheca,  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz  y  Saldana  en  el  corral  de 
Puente.  12.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  13.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz. 
14.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz.  15.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz.  16.  Velaz- 
quez en  la  Cruz.  17.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz.  18.  Domingo. 
Ganasa  en  la  Cruz,  Velazquez  en  el  Puente,  y  Saldana  en  la 
Pacheca.  19.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz,  "Velazquez  en  la  Pacheca.  20. 
Ganasa  en  la  Cruz,  Saldana  en  la  Pacheca.  21.  Velazquez  en  la 
Pacheca,  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz.  22.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz,  Saldana  en 
la  Pacheca.  23.  Ganasa  en  la  Cruz,  Velazquez  en  la  Pacheca. 
24.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz,  Saldana  en  la  Pacheca.  25  y  26.  Sal- 
dana en  la  Cruz,  Velazquez  en  la  Pacheca.     27.  Saldana  en  la 

*  (Enero  1582,  sabado.)  "Salio  a  representar  Ganasa  el  italiano  una 
comedia,  la  qual  .  .  .  oyeron  con  mucho  aplauso  y  por  haber  tanta  gente 
no  se  pudo  representar  en  el  tablado  que  para  ello  estaba  hecho  .  .  ." — 
"Domingo  siguiente  ...  a  la  noche  represento  Ganasa  el  italiano,  con 
que  se  entretuvieron  hasta  fue  hora  de  cenar."  (Relacion  de  todo  lo 
sucedido  en  los  casamientos  de  los  senores  Don  Rodrigo  y  Dona  Ana  de 
Mendoza,  hijo  y  hermano  del  senor  Marques  de  Cenete  y  Duque  del 
Infantado,  que  se  celebraron  en  la  ciudad  de  Guadalajara  d  20  de  Enero 
de  1582.    Relaciones  historicas  de  los  siglos  XVI  y  XVII,  Madrid,  1896.) 


APPENDIX  A  353 

Pacheca,  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  "No  represento  Ganasa  a  causa 
de  su  prision." 

Abril. — 16.  Segundo  dia  de  Pascua.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz  "y 
fue  el  primero  dia  de  representacion  despues  de  la  quaresma  deste 
dicho  ano."  17.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz,  Velazquez  en  la  Pacheca. 
18.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz.  19.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  20.  Cis- 
neros en  la  Cruz.  21,  22  y  23.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  24.  Cis- 
neros en  la  Cruz.  25.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz,  Velazquez  en  la 
Pacheca.  26.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  27.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz. 
29.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz,  Cisneros  en  la  Pacheca.  30.  Cisneros 
en  la  Cruz. 

Mayo. —  I.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz,  Velazquez  en  la  Pacheca. 
2  y  3.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  4.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz.  5.  Velaz- 
quez en  la  Cruz.  6.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz,  Velazquez  en  la 
Pacheca.  7.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz.  8  y  10.  Velazquez  en  la 
Cruz,  II.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz.  13.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz, 
Cisneros  en  la  Pacheca.  14.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  15.  Cis- 
neros en  la  Cruz.  16.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  17.  Cisneros  en 
la  Cruz.  20.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz,  Velazquez  en  la  Pacheca. 
21.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz.  23.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  24.  Velaz- 
quez en  la  Cruz,  Cisneros  en  la  Pacheca.  25.  Cisneros  en  la 
Cruz.  26.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  27.  Velazquez  en  la  Pa- 
checa, Cisneros  en  la  Cruz.  28.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  29.  Cis- 
neros en  la  Cruz. 

Junio.  —  I.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz.  2.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz. 
3.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz,  Cisneros  en  la  Pacheca.  4.  Velazquez 
en  la  Cruz.  5  y  6.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz.  7.  Velazquez  en  la 
Cruz.  8.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz.  9.  Velazquez  en  la  Cruz.  10. 
Velazquez  en  la  Pacheca,-Cisneros  en  la  Cruz.  1 1 .  Velazquez  en 
la  Cruz,  Cisneros  en  la  Pacheca.  19  y  20.  Cisneros  en  la  Cruz. 
29.  Un  italiano  volteo  en  la  Pacheca  y  siguio  trabajando  con  sus 
volteadores  hasta  el  dia  de  Santiago. 

Julio. — En  29  de  Julio  hubo  juego  de  manos  y  siguio  durante 
algunos  dias. 

Agosto. — 5.  Hizo  Saldana  "una  comedia  en  el  teatro  de  las 
obras  pias,  que  fue  la  primera  que  represento  despues  de  la  tasa  del 
quartillo."  El  volteador  trabajo  en  la  Pacheca.  6.  Saldana  en  la 
Cruz.  El  volteador  en  la  Pacheca.  10,  13  y  15.  Saldana  hizo 
comedia  en  la  Cruz.    El  volteador  trabajo  en  la  Pacheca.     16  y  19. 


354  APPENDIX  A 

Saldana  en  la  Cruz,  24.  Saldana  represento  en  la  Cruz  y  los 
Italianos  nuevos  hicieron  otra  comedia  en  la  Pacheca.  26.  Saldana 
en  la  Cruz  y  los  Corteses  en  la  Pacheca. 

Septiembre.— 2,  8,  9,  16,  21  y  23.  Saldana  en  la  Cruz  y  los 
Corteses  en  la  Pacheca.     29  y  30.  Los  Italianos  nuevos. 

Octubre. — 17  y  18.  Los  Italianos.  28.  Osorio  y  los  Italianos. 
31.  Osorio  y  los  Italianos. 

Noviembre. —  i.  Osorio  y  los  Italianos.  7,  14  y  15.  Angulo  y 
los  Corteses. 

Diciembre.— 12.  Alonso  Rodriguez.  18  y  19.  Alonso  Rodri- 
guez. Hubo  titeres  en  la  Pacheca.  21,  25,  26,  27,  28.  Alonso 
Rodriguez.  {Archivo  de  la  Diputacion  provincial,  VII,  1 15,  2, 
y  59,  2,  XII  (2400),  17.) 


1590 

Aprovechamiento  de  las  comedias  para  el  Hospital  general: 

Enero,  lunes  1° — Entraron  458  reales  de  las  dos  comedias  de 
Velazquez  y  Rios.  2.  Velazquez  y  Cisneros.  3.  Rios  y  Cis- 
neros.  4.  Velazquez  y  Rios.  5.  Cisneros  y  Rios.  6.  Cisneros  y 
Velazquez.  7.  Velazquez  y  Rios.  9.  Velazquez  y  Cisneros. 
II  y  12.  Velazquez  y  Rios.  13.  Rios  y  Cisneros.  14  y  15.  Velaz- 
quez y  Rios.     16.  Rios  y  Cisneros.     17  a  31.  Velazquez  y  Rios. 

Febrero. — 2,  3,  4  y  5-  Velazquez  y  Rios.  6.  Porras,  Velazquez 
y  Rios.  7,  8  y  9.  Velazquez  y  Rios.  10.  Velazquez,  ii  a  20. 
Rios  y  Velazquez.  21.  Velazquez  y  Cisneros.  22.  Velazquez  y 
HR-ios.  23.  Velazquez  y  Cisneros.  24.  Rios  y  Cisneros.  25.  Ve- 
lazquez y  Cisneros.    26.  Velazquez  y  Rios.    27.  Rios  y  Cisneros. 

Marzo.— 1°  Velazquez  y  Rios.  2.  Rios  y  Cisneros.  3.  Ve- 
lazquez.    5.  Rios  y  Velazquez.     6.  Velazquez  y  Cisneros. 

Mayo.— 3  a  7.  Cisneros.  9.  Rios.  11  y  12.  Cisneros.  13  a 
31.  Cisneros  y  Rios. 

Junio. — I,  2  y  3.  Rios  y  Cisneros.  6.  Cisneros.  7.  Rios.  10 
a  16.  Rios  y  Cisneros.     18  y  19.  Cisneros. 

Julio,— 15.  Alcocer.  17.  Villalba.  19.  Alcocer  y  Villalba, 
20.  Alcocer,  21,  Villalba  y  Alcocer,  23.  Alcocer.  24,  25,  28 
y  31.  Villalba. 

Agosto.— 2.  Villalba.    4  y  5.  Villalba.    19331.  Osorio. 

Septiembre. — 2  a  30.  Osorio. 


APPENDIX  A  355 

Octubre.— 2  a  30.  Osorio. 

Noviembre.— I  a  25.  Osorio.     26  a  30.  Cisneros. 

Diciembre. —  i"  Cisneros.  2.  Osorio.  3.  Cisneros.  4  V  5« 
Cisneros.  6  y  7.  Melchor  de  Leon.  8  a  15.  Cisneros  y  Leon. 
17.  Cisneros  y  Osorio.  18  y  19.  Leon  y  Cisneros.  20.  Cisneros. 
21.  Leon  y  Cisneros.  Trabajo  tambien  un  volador.  23.  Cisne- 
ros y  Leon.  25.  Cisneros.  26  y  27.  Cisneros  y  Leon.  28. 
Leon.  Hubo  comedia  en  casa  de  Gonzalo  de  Monzon.  30.  Cis- 
neros y  Leon. 

Total  de  ingresos  en  el  ano  1590:  1,840,613  maravedis.  Gastos: 
igual  cantidad.  {Archivo  de  la  Diputacion.  Manual  del  Hos- 
pital general,  II,  158,  8.) 

1601 

Enero. —  i*  Gaspar  de  Forres  y  Baltasar  Pinedo.  3  a  24. 
Porres  y  Pinedo.  25  y  26.  Pinedo.  28,  30  y  31.  Porres  y 
Pinedo. 

Febrero. —  1°  Porres  y  Diego  Lopez  de  Alcaraz.  2.  Porres  y 
Pinedo.  3.  Alcaraz.  4.  Porres  y  Pinedo.  5  a  8.  Porres  y  Al- 
caraz. 9,  Pinedo  y  Alcaraz.  10.  Porres  y  Pinedo.  ii.  Pinedo 
y  Alcaraz.  13  a  16.  Porres  y  Alcaraz.  17  y  18.  Porres  y 
Pinedo.  19.  Porres  y  Alcaraz.  20.  Porres  y  Pinedo.  21. 
Porres  y  Alcaraz.  22.  Porres  y  Pinedo.  23  a  25.  Pinedo  y  Alca- 
raz.    26  y  27.  Porres  y  Pinedo.     28.  Alcaraz  y  Pinedo. 

Marzo.— I"  Porres  y  Pinedo.  2.  Porres  y  Alcaraz.  3.  Pinedo 
y  Alcaraz.  4.  Porres  y  Pinedo.  5.  Porres  y  Alcaraz.  6.  Pinedo 
y  Alcaraz. 

Abril. — 29  a  30.  Gaspar  de  Porres. 

Mayo. —  1°  a  7.  Gaspar  de  Porres.  9.  Pedro  Jimenez  de  Va- 
lenzuela.  10  y  11.  Porres  y  Gabriel  Vaca.  12.  Porres.  13  a 
15.  Porres  y  Vaca.  16.  Vaca.  18.  Porres.  19  a  22.  Porres  y 
Vaca.    23  a  31.  Porres. 

Junio. — 3  a  17.  Gaspar  de  Porres.  22.  Porres  (Autos  en  el 
teatro ) .     23  y  24.  Autos  a  los  semaneros  en  el  teatro. 

Julio.— 12,  13,  18  y  22.  Gabriel  de  la  Torre.  23  y  30.  Anto- 
nio de  Villegas. 

Agosto. — 3  331.  Villegas. 

Septiembre. — 3  a  30.  Villegas. 


356  APPENDIX  A 

Octubre.— 2  a  i8.  Villegas.  19.  Los  Franceses.  20  y  21. 
Vlllegas.     26,  27  y  28.  Gabriel  de  la  Torre. 

Noviembre.— 2  a  13.  Gabriel  de  la  Torre.  14  a  23.  Gabriel 
Vaca  y  Pedro  Jimenez  de  Valenzuela  [these  two  autores  managed 
a  company  in  partnership]. 

Diciembre.— 2  a  18.  Vaca  y  Jimenez  de  Valenzuela.  21  331. 
Villegas.  {Archivo  de  la  Diputacion.  Manual  del  Hospital 
general,  II,  158,  8.) 


1602 

Enero. — 4  a  29.  Jeronimo  Lopez. 

Abril. — 8  y  9.  Pedro  Jimenez  de  Valenzuela. 

Mayo. — 3.  Pedro  Jimenez  de  Valenzuela.  23,  24.  Los  Es- 
paholes  [this  company  was  formed  by  Pedro  Rodriguez,  Diego  de 
Rojas,  and  Gaspar  de  los  Reyes].  26  a  28.  Pedro  Jimenez  de 
Valenzuela. 

Junio. — 16  y  18.  Los  Espanoles. 

Agosto.— II  330.  Villegas. 

Septiembre. — 3  a  30.  Villegas. 

Octubre. —  i  i  g.  Villegas.     31.  Villegas, 

Noviembre. —  i  a  7,  Antonio  Granados.  8.  Gabriel  de  la 
Torre.     lo  a  27.  Granados. 

Diciembre. — 4  a  29.  Juan  de  Morales.  {Archivo  de  la  Dipu- 
tacion.   Manual  del  Hospital  general,  II,  198,  8.) 


APPENDIX  B 


AUTORES  DE  COMEDIAS  ^WHO  REPRESENTED  THE 
AUTOS  SACRAMENTALES  IN  MADRID 

1574  Jeroni'mo  Velazquez  represented  three  autos  at  the  Corpus 
festival  of  this  year. 

1578  Alonso  de  Cisneros,  three  autos. 

1579  Mateo  de  Salcedo. 

1580  Alonso  de  Cisneros. 

1 581  Jeronimo  Velazquez. 

1582  Alonso  de  Cisneros  and  Jeronimo  Velazquez. 

1585  Caspar  de  Porres,  three  autos. 

1586  Jeronimo  Velazquez  represented  three  autos. 

1587  Nicolas  de  los  Rios,  Miguel  Ramirez,  and  Juan  de  Alcozer. 

1589  Jeronimo  Velazquez,  three  autos. 

1590  Nicolas  de  los  Rios  and  Alonso  de  Cisneros. 

1 591  Alonso  de  Cisneros. 

1592  Caspar  de  Porres  and  Rodrigo  de  Saavedra,  each  two  autos. 

1593  Alonso  de  Cisneros  and  Caspar  de  Porres. 

1594  Jeronimo  Velazquez,  two  autos. 

1595  Alonso  de  Cisneros  and  Antonio  de  Villegas.    [Porres?] 

1596  Nicolas  de  los  Rios  and  Antonio  de  Villegas,  each  two  autos. 

1597  Nicolas  de  los  Rios. 

1598  Antonio  de  Villegas  and  Diego  Lopez  de  Alcaraz. 

1599  Caspar  de  Porres   (two  autos) ;  Diego  Lopez  de  Alcaraz 

and  Luis  de  Vergara,  each  an  auto. 
i6cx)     Melchor  de  Villalba  and  Cabriel  de  la  Torre,  each  two 
autos. 

1602  Pedro  Jimenez  de  Valenzuela. 

1603  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano. 

1604  Caspar  de  Porres. 

357 


358  APPENDIX  B 

1605  Caspar  de  Porres.     In  this  year  only  two  autos  were  repre- 

sented, both  by  Porres.  For  these  he  received  3700 
reals.     {Bull  Hisp.  (1907),  p.  372.) 

1606  Baltasar  Pinedo  and  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano. 

1607  Baltasar  Pinedo  and  Nicolas  de  los  Rios. 

1608  Alonso  Riquelme  and  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano. 

1609  Alonso  de  Heredia  and  Domingo  Balbin. 

1 610  Alonso  Riquelme  and  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas. 

161 1  Hernan    Sanchez    de    Vargas    and   Tomas    Fernandez    de 

Cabredo. 

1 61 2  Juan    de    Morales    Medrano    and    Tomas    Fernandez    de 

Cabredo. 

1613  Alonso  de  Riquelme  and  Antonio  de  Villegas. 

1614  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano  and  Baltasar  Pinedo.      {Bull, 

Hisp.  (1907),  p.  379.) 

161 5  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas  and  Pedro  de  Valdes. 

1616  Pedro  Cebrian  and  Pedro  Cerezo  de  Guevara.     In  Paz  y 

Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  1 64 1,  we  read  that  Alonso  de 
Riquelme  represented  Lope's  auto  La  Isla  del  Sol  in  this 
year. 

1 61 7  Cristobal  de  Leon  and  Baltasar  Pjnedo. 

1 61 8  Baltasar  Pinedo  and  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas. 

1619  Baltasar  Pinedo  and  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas. 

1620  Alonso  de  Olmedo  and  Cristobal  de  Avendano. 

1 62 1  Pedro  de  Valdes  and  Cristobal  de  Avendano.     {Bull.  Hisp. 

(1908),  p.  244.) 

1622  Manuel  Vallejo. 

1623  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano  and  Antonio  de  Prado. 

1624  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano  and  Antonio  de  Prado. 

1625  Andres  de  la  Vega,  Tomas  Fernandez  de  Cabredo,   and 

Juan  de  Morales  Medrano.  In  this  year  each  autor  rep- 
resented one  auto  and  a  part  of  the  fourth  auto.  {Bull, 
Hisp.  (1908),  p.  252.) 

1626  Cristobal  de  Avendano  and  Andres  de  la  Vega. 

1627  Roque  de  Figueroa  and  Andres  de  la  Vega. 

1628  Andres  de  la  Vega  and  Bartolome  Romero. 

1629  Bartolome  Romero  and  Roque  de  Figueroa. 

1630  Andres  de  la  Vega  and  Roque  de  Figueroa. 
1632     Manuel  Vallejo  and  Francisco  Lopez. 


APPENDIX  B  359 

1633     Antonio  de  Prado  and  Manuel  Vallejo. 

1637  Pedro  de  la  Rosa  and  Tomas  Fernandez  de  Cabredo. 

1638  Bartolome  Romero  (two  autos)  and  Antonio  de  Rueda  and 

Pedro  Ascanio  (each  one). 

1639  Antonio  de  Rueda  and  Manuel  Vallejo. 

1640  Bartolome  Romero. 


APPENDIX  C 


CASTS  OF  COMEDIAS 

The  following  casts  of  comedias  of  the  seventeenth  century  have 
been  collected  from  various  sources,  the  most  of  them  from  manu- 
scripts in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional.  They  are  arranged  in  chrono- 
logical order. 

La  bella  Ester  (i6io) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  in  British  Museum,  dated  at 
Madrid,  April  5,  1610.  This  comedia  was  afterward  published  in 
Part  XV  of  Lope's  Comedias  under  the  title  La  hermosa  Ester. 

Hassan Morales 

Egeo Vicente 

Tarses Torres 

Marsanes Carrillo 

Adamasa Fuentes 

Setar   Morales 

El  Rey  Assuero Sanchez 

Un  Capitan Carrillo 

Mardoqueo Toledo 

La  Reyna  Vasti 

Ester S'  Polonia 

Selvagio   Vicente 

Sirena,  labradora Clara 

Musica Villaverde 

Aman   Rosales 

In  Act  III  the  part  of  Marsanes  is  assigned  to  Antonio.  This 
is  the  company  of  Hernan  Sanchez  de  Vargas. 

360 


APPENDIX  C  361 

La  buena  Guarda  6  la  Encomienda  bien  guardada  (1610) 

Lope  de  Vega.    Autog.  MS.  dated  at  Madrid,  April  16,  1610, 
formerly  in  the  possession  of  the  Marquis  Pidal. 

Personas  del  P"  Acto : 

Leonarda Catalina  [de  Valcazar] 

Dona  Luisa Mariana  [de  Herbias?] 

Un  Escudero [Martin  de?]  Vivar 

Don  Juan Luis 

Don  Luis [Pedro  de]  Espafia 

El  hermano  Carrizo,  sacristan [Diego  Lopez]  Basurto 

Felix,  mayordomo [Alonso  de]  Olmedo 

Dona  Clara Maria  de  Argiiello 

Dona  Elena Catalina 

Don  Pedro,  sti  padre [Luis  de]  Quinones 

Ricardo,  viejo Espana 

Don  Carlos Benito  [de  Castro] 

Musicos 

Hablan  en  el  Segundo  Acto : 

Felix [Alonso  de]  Olmedo 

Carrizo [Diego  Lopez]  Basurto 

Dona  Clara Maria  de  Argiiello 

Un  Angel Mariana 

Una  Voz Catalina  Valcacer 

Portera 

Don  Carlos Benito  [de  Castro] 

Gines [Agustin]  Coronel 

Carrizo,  fingido Vivar 

Un  pastor [Alonso  de]  Riquelme 

Un  huesped [Pedro  de]  Callenueva 

Hablan  en  el  3"  Acto : 

Carrizo Basurto 

Felix   Olmedo 

Tres  bandoleros Coronel,  Espana,  Callenueva 


362  APPENDIX  C 

Liseno  >    .„        Argiiello 

„          \vtllanos  T    • 

Cosme  3  Luis 

T-.       ,  C  Catalina 

Dos  damas <  _     ,   . 

( Jeronima 

C  Espana 
Dos  galanes <  ^    . 

Dos  musicos 

Dos  nadadores i^^''" 

( Callenueva 

Don  Carlos Benito 

Un  pastor Riquelme 

Un  Angel Mariana 

Don  Pedro Quinones 

Gines Coronel 

La  hortelana Jeronima 

La  portera Catalina 

Carrizo,  fingido Vivar 

Un  platero Callenueva 

This  is  the  company  of  Alonso  Riquelme.  Comedias  escogidas 
de  Lope  de  Vega,  ed.  Hartzenbusch  {Bibl.  de  Jut.  Esp.),  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  326. 

La  Discordia  en  los  Casados  (1611) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog,  MS.  (Osuna)  dated  at  Madrid,  August 
2,  161 1,  with  licenses  to  1618.    Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  933. 

Alberto Arellano.  Soria 

Aurelio   Quinones 

Musico Quinones 


Personas  del  3*  Acto: 

Cenardo Arellano.  Soria 

Panfilo Herrera 


APPENDIX  C  363 

El  Bastard 0  Mudarra  ( 1 6 1 2  ) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  signed  at  Madrid,  April  27,  161 2, 
formerly  in  the  possession  of  Sr.  Olozaga.  I  have  an  excellent 
photo-zincograph  of  it,  published  in  1886. 

Personas  del  P**  Acto : 

Dona  Alanbra Ana  Maria 

Gonzalo  Bustos Cintor 

Rui  Velazquez Benito 

Gonzalo  Gonzalez Cintorico 

The  remaining  characters  are  unassigned.  The  MS.  contains 
licenses  to  represent  dated  Madrid,  May  17,  1612;  ^aragoga, 
January  29,  161 3,  and  Antequera,  May  13,  161 6,  and  in  161 7. 

La  Dama  boba  (1613) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  (Osuna)  dated  at  Madrid,  April 
28,  1613.    Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  810. 

Liseo,  caballero Ortiz  [de  Villazan] 

Leandro,  caballero Almonte 

Turin,  lacayo [Baltasar  de?]  Carvajal 

Octavio,  viejo [Luis  de]  Quinones 

Miseno,  su  amigo [Juan  de]  Villanueva 

Duardo Guebara 

Laurencio Benito  [de  Castro] 

Feniso,  caballero [Manuel]  Simon 

Rufino,  maestro [Pedro]  Aguado 

Nise,  dama Jeronima  [de  Burgos] 

Finea,  su  hermana Maria  [de  los  Angeles?] 

Celia,  criada Isabel  [Rodriguez?] 

Clara,  criada Ana  Maria  [de  Ribero] 

This  is  the  company  of  Pedro  de  Valdes.  Perhaps  the  "Isabel" 
is  Isabel  de  Velasco,  who  married  Luis  Quinones  in  161 4. 


364  APPENDIX  C 

La  Tercera  de  la  Sancta  J  nana  ( 1614) 

Tirso  de  Molina.  Autog.  MS.  inedited  [since  published  by  Sr. 
Cotarelo],  dated  at  Toledo,  August  6,  1614.  Catdlogo,  No.  3035. 
I  have  a  copy  of  this  MS.  made  years  ago.  The  cast  is  in  Tirso's 
hand.  It  was  represented,  apparently,  by  two  companies.  The 
characters  of  the  play  are  in  the  middle  column : 

Bernardo Don  Luis [Luis  de]  Toledo 

[Inigo  de]  Loaisa (^esar  ....    [Juan  de]  Montemayor 

Diego Don  Diego,  viejo Cristobal 

Nauarete Lillo [Antonio  de]  Sanpayo 

l^po.  nfb  Sr Montemayor 

M* La  Sancta M*  de  Morales 

Lorenzo S.  Laruel Ant°  de  Prado 

Ana  M" Aldonqa  .  La  S*  Petronila[de  Loaysa] 

Peynado,  pastor [Pedro]  Aguado 

Isabel Dona  Ines 

La  S*  Ana  Maria[de  UUoa  ?] 

Montemayor    Crespo,  pastor Aguado 

Mingo,  pastor  .  .  [Cristobal  de]  S.  Pedro 
Berrueco  pastor Juan  Ximenez 

2**  Acto.    Personas : 

Don  Luis Toledo 

Aldonga la  S"  Petronila 

<Don  Diego S.  Pedro 

Lillo    Sanpayo 

D.  Jorge Xpobal 

Maria,  monja la  S""'  Anna  Maria 

Dona  Ines la  dicha 

Qesar Montemayor 

Nfa  Senora la  S*"*  Petronila 

El  nino  Jesus Sanpaico 

El  Angel Antonio  del  Prado 

3**  Acto.    Personas  de  el : 

D.  Diego Alonso  fre.  [Alonso  Fernandez  de  Guardo?] 

D.  Luis Toledo 


APPENDIX  C  365 

Lillo Sanpayo.    Guardia 

Crespo   Aguado 

Berrueco Ju"  Ximenez 

Mingo S.  P°  [i.e.  San  Pedro] 

Qesar   M'*mayor 

Dona  Ynes Ana  Cabello 

La  Santa M»  de  Morales 

El  Angel Antonio  de  Prado.    Juan  de  Madrid 

Nuestra  Senora la  S"  Petronila  [de  Loaysa] 

Jesus  Nino Sanpaico 

Maria,  monja la  S"  Ana  Maria 

Otra  monja la  S'  Madalena  [de  Oviedo] 

Una  nina Sanpaico 

Un  Alma Ju*  Ximenez 

En  Toledo,  a  24  de  Agosto  de  161 4  anos. 


El  Sembrar  en  buena  Tierra  (1616) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  in  British  Museum,  dated  Madrid, 
January  6,  161 6.  It  contains  a  license  to  perform,  signed  by 
Tomas  Gracian  Dantisco  on  January  12,  1616. 

Personas  del  P**  Acto : 

Don  Felix [Cristobal]  Ortiz  [de  Villazan] 

Florencio  Benito 

Galindo,  criado Sanchez 

Dona  Prudencia Eugenia  [de  Villegas?] 

Ynes 

Celia  Lugia 

Elena    

Fabio [Francisco  Munoz  de  la]  Plaza 

Felino [Antonio]  Ramos 

Don  Alonso [Juan  de]  Valdivieso 

Lizardo Herrera 

Liseo Escruela[  ?] 

Fidelio Ra 


zee  APPENDIX  c 

Personas  del  2°  Acto: 

Arseno Ceruela 

Otavfo Ramon 

Un  escriuano Ramos 

Un  alguacil Plaza 

The  other  characters  are  unassigned. 

3"  Acto : 
Florencio  Benito 

The  name  of  one  of  these  actors  once  appears  as  Escruela,  then  as 
Ceruela.  This  name  is  otherwise  unknown.  Escoriguela  was  a 
well-known  player. 

Quien  mas  no  puede  (l6l6) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  dated  at  Madrid,  September  i, 
1616,  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  John  Murray. 

Personas  del  P*  Acto : 

Ramiro,  Rey  de  Nauarra Zancado 

Don  Beltran,  criado  suyo Bernardino 

El  Conde  Henrriq Xpobal 

Nuno,  criado  del  Conde Ossorio 

^Dona  Eluira,  ynfanta Ana 

Lucinda,  donzella  suya Francisca 

Ordono,  Rey  de  Leon P*>  Zebrian 

Laynez,  criado  del  Rey Cuebas 

Ynigo,  criado  del  Conde el  q  bayla,  Al^ 

Dona  Blanca,  herm"  del  Conde Maritardia 

Personas  del  2°  Acto: 

Dona  Blanca 

Don  Ynigo 

Celio Antonio 

Laynez   

Don  Sancho Cuebas 


APPENDIX  C  367 

Don  Arias Antonio 

Lisis Francisca  o  Ana  Muiioz 

Riselo o  Cuebas  o  Bernardino 

Menandro  Villanas el  q  bayle  q  no  se  el  nonbre 

Luzinda,  El  Conde  Henrriq,  Dona.  Eluira,  Nuno,  Rey  Ramiro, 
Don  Beltran,  unassigned.  In  the  third  act  only  one  character  is 
assigned :  Estela  to  Francisca. 

Las  Paredes  oyen'  (161 7) 

Juan  Ruiz  de  Alarcon.  D.  Luis  Fernandez  Guerra,  D.  Juan 
Ruiz  de  Alarcon,  Madrid,  1 87 1,  p.  257,  says  that  the  MS.,  appar- 
ently an  autograph,  is  preserved  in  the  Osuna  library.  But  be- 
tween this  date  and  1882,  when  Rocamora  published  his  Catalogue 
of  the  Osuna  manuscripts,  it  must  have  disappeared,  for  it  is  not 
mentioned  by  Rocamora  and  never  passed  into  the  possession  of 
the  Biblioteca  Nacional.    See  ibid.,  p.  497. 

Celia Dorotea  [de  Sierra] 

D.  Juan [Damian]  Arias 

Beltran Pedro  de  Villegas 

Dona  Ana Maria  de  Cordoba 

Ortiz Frasquito 

D.  Mendo [Luis  Bernardo  de]  Bobadilla 

Lucrecia Maria  de  Vitoria 

Conde Azua 

Duque [Gabriel]  Cintor 

Escudero 

Marcelo   

Leonido Francisco  de  Robles 

Un  arriero Bernardino  [Alvarez?] 

Una  musica Maria  de  Vitoria 

Otro  musico [Juan]  Mazana 

Otro  musico Navarrete 

La  Guarda  cuidadosa 

Miguel  Sanchez,  el  Divino.  The  comedia  was  first  printed  at 
Alcala  in  161 5.    The  manuscript  from  which  the  following  cast  is 


368  APPENDIX  C 

taken,  and  which  was  formerly  in  the  Osuna  collection,  is  now  In 
the  Biblioteca  Nacional.  Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  143 1.  It  is 
of  the  early  seventeenth  century.  See  La  Isla  Barbara  and  La 
Guarda  cuidadosa,  two  comedies  by  Miguel  Sanchez  {el  Divino), 
ed.  by  H.  A.  Rennert,  Boston  and  Halle,  1896. 

Trebacio   Lorenzo  [Hurtado  ?] 

Leucato Diego 

Principe [Juan  de]  Montemayor 

Roberto [Inigo  de]  Loaysa 

Nisea Maria  [de  Jesus?  de  Vitoria?] 

Arsinda Ana  Maria  [de  Ulloa  ?] 

Florela,  labradora Isabelica 

Ariadeno Navarrete 

Fileno    Minaiio 

Florencio Bernardo 

In  a  MS.  comedia  of  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
Como  a  de  usarse  del  Bien  y  a  de  preuenirse  el  Mai,  existing  in  the 
Biblioteca  Palatina  at  Parma  and  described  by  Professor  Restori  in 
Stud]  di  Filologia  Romanza,  fasc.  15,  Roma,  1891,  p.  129,  occur 
the  names  of  the  following  players:  Sotomayor,  01medo(?),  Isa- 
belica, Naba[rrete],  La  S*  Bernarda,  Tapia,  Perez,  and  Loaysa. 
This  comedia,  which  was  afterward  published  (Halle,  1899)  by 
Professor  Restori  with  the  title: 

Los  Guzmanes  de  Toral, 

was  written  by  Lope  de  Vega,  and,  as  the  title"  occurs  in  the  first 
list  of  his  Peregrino  en  su  Patria,  is  prior  to  1604.  The  third  act 
is  in  Lope's  hand  and  has  the  following  cast : 

Rey  Don  Alfonso Sotoma5'or 

Dona  Greida M' 

Don  Payo Obredo  [Olmedo  ?] 

Dona  Aldonza Isabelica 

Tirso Trebino 

Godinez,  lacayo Naba[rrete] 

Urgel    Diego 

Alvaro Olmedo 


APPENDIX  C  369 

Pascuala la  S*  Bernarda 

Dona  Ana  de  Haro Isabel  b' 

Don  Garcia 

Don  Lope  Diaz  de  Haro Diego 

Sancho  Manrique Diego 

Verveco Tapia 

Mireno Juanico 

Soldado  1° Tapia 

Soldado  2°   Juanico 

Soldado  3° Perez 

Alonso  Ansurez Loaisa 

El  Desden  vengado  ( 1617) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  signed  at  Madrid,  August  4,  161 7, 
formerly  in  the  Osuna  library,  now  in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional. 
Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  871. 

El  Conde  Lucindo Fadrique 

Tomin,  criado [Agustin]  Coronel 

Feniso Juan  Jeronimo  [Valenciano] 

Roberto,  caballero Juan  de  Vargas 

Leonardo Cosme 

Rugero,  Rey  de  Napoles Juan  Bautista  [Valenciano] 

Lisena,  damn D*  Maria  [Coronel  ?] 

Celia,  dama Manuela  [Enriquez] 

Evandro,  su  padre 

Ynarda,  criada Vincenta  [de  Borja?] 

Schack,  Nachtrage,,  p.  46.  This  is  probably  the  company  of 
Juan  Bautista  Valenciano. 

El  Martir  de  Madrid  (  1619) 

Mira  de  Amescua.  Partly  autograph,  with  a  license  to  perform 
dated  161 9.  Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  2029.  There  are  other 
licenses  as  late  as  1 641. 

Alvaro  Ramirez Jusepe 

D.  Fernando Lorenzo  [Hurtado]  el  autor 


370  APPENDIX  C 

La  infelice  Dorotea  (1620) 

Andres  de  Claramonte  wrote  it  for  Juan  Bautista  Valenciano. 
Sanchez-Arjona,  Anales  del  Teatro  en  Sevilla,  p.  214.  MS.  copy 
in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional.    Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  1594. 

D.  Garcinunez Fadrique 

El  Rey Juan  Jeronimo  [Valenciano] 

D.  Fernando Juan  Bautista  [Valenciano] 

Nuno  de  Lemos Andres  [de  Claramonte?] 

Arnao [Agustin]  Coronel 

Solano Miguel 

Layn [Cristobal  de  ?]  Avendano 

Mendo Jusepe 

Teodora S*  Maria  [Candau  ?] 

Dorotea S*  Manuela  [Enriquez] 

Leonor S""*  Maria  de  los  Angeles 

D.  Juan Manuel  de  Coca 

Amor,  Pleito  y  Desafio  (1621) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  dated  at  Madrid,  November  23, 
1 62 1,  with  a  license  of  January  14,  1622.  Formerly  in  the  Duran 
collection  and  now  in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional.    Catdlogo,  No.  171. 

D.  Alvaro  de  Rojas [Pedro]  Maldonado 

D.  Juan  de  Padilla Lorenzo  Hurtado 

D.  Juan  de  Aragon Francisco  Triviiio 

El  Rey  Alfonso Juan  Bautista  [Valenciano] 

Dona  Beatriz la  Senora  Angela  [de  Toledo  ?] 

D'  Ana la  S""*  Francisca  de  Soria(  ?) 

Martin,  escudero Antonio  Rodriguez 

Tello,  criado Vicente 

Sancho,  criado Pedro  de  Valdes 

Leonor la  Senora  Jeronima  [de  Burgos] 


APPENDIX  C  371 

La  nueva  Victoria  de  D.  Gonzalo  de  Cordoba  (1622) 

Lope  de  Vega,  Autog.  MS.  in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional,  dated 
at  Madrid,  October  8,  1622.     Catdlogo,  No.  2409. 

Lisarda,  dama la  S"  Manuela  [Enriquez] 

Fulgencia,  criada S""*  Ana 

D.  Juan  Ramirez Fadrique 

Bernabe,  lacayo [Agustin]  Coronel 

El  Capitan  Medrano Cosme 

Estevan,  criado  Jusepe 

El  Bastardo Juan  Jeronimo  [Valenciano] 

EI  Obispo  de  Holstad [Juan  de]  Vargas 

El  Duque  de  Bullon Jusepe 

D.  Gonzalo  de  Cordoba Juan  Bautista  [Valenciano] 

D.  Francisco  de  Harras Manuel 

EI  Baron  de  Tili Naruaez 

Musico [Manuel]  Simon 

El  Poder  en  el  Discreto  (1623) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional,  dated  at 
Madrid,  May  8,  1623.  Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  2649.  There 
are  two  casts  given  in  the  MS. 

Serafina,  dama   Maria  Calderon    Josefa  [Vaca?] 

Rosela,  criada D*  Isabel 

Teodosio,  Rey  de  Sicilia    .  .  .  Lezcano Bracamonte 

Celio,  de  su  camara Morales Arias 

Alejo,  criado  de  Celio Castro Trivino 

El  Conde  de  Augusta Suarez Morales 

Flora,  dama   Mariana  [Vaca]    Mariana  [Vaca] 

The  MS.  contains  a  license  dated  1624,  and  the  company  on  the 
right  was  in  all  probability  that  of  Juan  de  Morales  Medrano,  in 
which  both  his  wife  and  his  daughter  Mariana  appeared.  My  copy 
gives  the  name  "Bracamonte,"  not  Vacamonte. 


372  APPENDIX  C 

Celos  con  Celos  se  curan  ( 1 625) 

Tirso  de  Molina.  MS.  copy,  formerly  in  the  Osuna  collection, 
now  in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional.  Paz  y  Melia,  Cdtalogo,  No.  563. 
It  contains  licenses  dated  1625.    There  are  two  casts: 

^esar [Cristobal]  de  Avendano Gutierrez 

Carlos Viera Segobia 

Gascon Bernardo Matias 

Sirena Maria  de  Montesinos  . .  Juana  de  los  Reyes 

Diana Catalina  Moreno Ines 

Marco  Antonio Lezcano Francisco  Alonso 

Alejandro [  ?]    Juan  Alonso 

Narcisa    M*  Candau   Luisa 

Un  grande  chico [Bait.]  Moreno [  ?] 

Un  jardinero Ordonez Marcos 

The  first  of  these  companies  seems  to  be  that  of  Cristobal  de 
Avendano  about  the  year  1632. 

El  Brasil  restituido  ( 1625) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  dated  at  Madrid,  October  23,  1625, 
now  in  the  Lenox  Library,  New  York. 

Personas  del  P"  Acto : 

Dona  Guiomar M*  de  Vitoria 

Don  Diego [Gabriel  ?]  Cintor 

Bernardo Bernardino  [Alvarez?] 

Laurencio [Juan]  Antonio 

Leonardo [Luis  Bernardo  de]  Bobadilla 

El  Coronel  de  Olanda      Arias  con  barba  Frangesa 

Alberto,  su  hijo El  Spir  santo  del  Auto 

El  Gobernador El  Autor 

Machado Pedro  [de  Villegas?] 

La  Monarquia  de  Espana 

Ongol 

Darin   

.Soldados 

El  Brasil Maria  de  Cordoba 


APPENDIX  C  373 

Person  as  del  2*  Acto : 

La  religion  Catolica Dorotea  [de  Sierra] 

El  Brasil La  Autora 

D.  Manuel  de  Meneses Musico 

D.  Fadrique  de  Toledo Arias 

Leonardo Bobadilla 

Machado * Pedro 

D*  Guiomar M'  de  Vitoria 

D.  Juan  de  Orellana [Juan]  Mazana 

D.  Diego  Ramirez 

El  Coronel  electo Bernardino 

Don  Enrique  de  Alagon Cintor 

Don  Diego  de  Espinosa Antonio 

Don  Pedro  de  Santisteban  ....  fr**"  de  rro  [Francisco  de  Robles?] 

Apolo Arias 

La  heregia M"  de  Vitoria 

Un  soldado el  nino 

This  is  probably  the  company  of  Andres  de  la  Vega.  See  my 
article  in  the  Mod.  Lang.  Review  for  January,  1906,  p.  108. 

El  piadoso  Aragones  (1626) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  dated  at  Madrid,  August  17,  1626, 
now  in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional.  Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  2607. 
Licenses  of  Madrid,  September  15,  1626;  Zaragoza,  1627,  and  Lis- 
bon, 1 63 1. 

Almirante Vicente 

D.  Bernardo [Pedro  ?]  Jordan 

D.  Pedro  Agramonte Quadrado 

Alcalde Lorenzo 

These  names  are  crossed  out,  and  the  following  are  added : 

D.  Pedro  Agramonte Felipe 

Bernardo  Jordan 

Raymundo  de  Luna Mateo 

Mendoza Tapia 


374  APPENDIX  C 

Musico Leon 

D.  Juan  de  Beamonte Max" 

El  Favor  en  la  Sentencia  (1626) 

Jacinto  Cordeiro.  Autog.  MS.  in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional.  Paz 
y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  1242.    Written  for  Bartolome  Romero. 

Porcia la  Autora  [Antonia  Manuela  Catalan] 

Arminda Dorotea 

Rey Estrada[  ?] 

El  Principe [Gabriel]  Zintor 

Conde [Alonso  de]  Osuna 

Rosando Autor  [Bartolome  Romero] 

D*  Linda Micaela 

Gascon Tomas  [Enriquez  ?] 

Sanchez- Arjona,  Anales,  p.  272. 

Amor  con  vista  (1626) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  signed  at  Madrid  on  December  10, 
1626.  Licenses  to  perform  in  Madrid,  of  1627,  and  in  Lisbon, 
1630.  In  the  Biblioteca  Nacional.  Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No. 
149. 

El  Conde  Otabio Autor  [Antonio  de  Prado] 

Tome,  criado  suyo [Luis  Bernardo  de]  Bobadilla 

Celia M"  de  Calderon  [this  is  crossed  out]  Vitoria 

Lisena Autora  [Mariana  Vaca  de  Morales] 

2°  Acto : 
Julio Jeronimo 

Sin  Secreto  no  ay  Amor  (1626) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  signed  at  Madrid,  July  18,  1626, 
with  licenses  to  perform  of  Madrid,  August  2,  1626;  Zaragoza, 
October  13,  1626,  and  Granada,  April  28,  1630.  British  Museum. 
Published  by  me,  Baltimore,  1894  (Mod.  Lang.  Assoc). 

Celio Tapia 

Fabricio Jeronimo 


APPENDIX  C  375 

Del  Monte  sale  quien  el  Monte  quema  (1627) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  signed  at  Madrid,  October  20, 
1627.  Licenses  of  Madrid,  May  17,  1628;  Valencia,  September 
28,  1628;  Granada,  October  i,  1636.  In  the  Biblioteca  Nacional. 
Catdlogo,  No.  848. 

El  Conde  Henrrique Arias 

Feliciano    Jusepe 

Narcisa,  lahradora S"  Maria  de  Heredia 

Tirso,  villano   Heredia 

Juana,  labradora S"""  Catalina  [de  Medina?] 

Celia,  dama S""*  Ana  Maria  [de  Ulloa?] 

Clara,  criada S*""  Francisca 

El  Rey  de  Francia [Francisco  de]  Salas 

Mauricio,  Gobernador [Juan  de]  Montemayor 

El  Marques  Roselo S""  Marcos.    Rueda 

Leonelo,  Capitan Alvarez 

The  names  Valdes,  Mencos,  and  Francisca  also  occur. 

La  Conpetencia  en  los  Nobles  (1628?) 

Lope  de  Vega.  MS.  in  the  British  Museum  with  corrections 
supposed  to  be  in  the  hand  of  Lope. 

Acto  2°: 

D.  Juan [Juan]  Antonio 

D.  Pedro [Manuel]  Simon 

Hernando Autor 

Guzman    Canobas 

Don  Luis Damian  [Arias  ?] 

Don  Diego Luis  de  Salagar 

El  Rey Nabarrete 

Beltran    Sagedo 

Dona  Juana Ana  de  Moya 

Dona  Maria Catalina  [de  Peralta?] 

Leonor su  muger  de  Nibarrete 

Toreadores Marcos  y  Grajales 

According  to  the  suelta  of  this  comedia,  it  was  first  represented 
by  Tomas  Fernandez.     It  was  in  the  repertory  of  the  companies 


376  APPENDIX  C 

of  Rueda  and  Ascanio  in   1638-40,     See  Resell,  Entremeses  de 
Benavente,  Vol.  I,  p.  377. 

La  gran  Columna  fogosa  (1629?) 

Lope  de  Vega.  MS.  copy  in  Biblioteca  Nacional.  Paz  y  Melia, 
Catalogo,  No.  1 41 2.  The  MS.  contains  original  licenses  dated  at 
Plasencia,  1629. 

El  Enperador  Valente,  ereje Al°  Gomez 

Pretoriano,  ereje P"  Gonqalez 

Agustulo,  ereje Dominguez 

Posidonio,  ereje Domingo  Hernandez 

San  Basio,  Obispo Fernando  Lopez 

Eraclio,  cauallero  biejo Caspar  Serrano 

Antonia,  hija  de  Eraclio Antonio 

Sabina,  criada  de  Ant'^ Martin 

Patricio P°  de  Bonilla 

Un  encantador Diego  Lopez 

Satan Juan  Martinez 

Otro  demonio Diego  Lopez 

Emerencio,  biejo Diego  Lopez 

Leonicio,  criado Juan  Martinez 

Fulbino,  criado Domingo  Hernandez 

Telemarco Francisco  Rodriguez 

Decio,  criado Luis 

^  Un  hebreo Dominguez 

El  Castigo  sin  Venganza  (1631) 

Lope  de  Vega.  Autog.  MS.  dated  at  Madrid,  August  i,  1631, 
in  the  Ticknor  Library,  Boston.  See  my  article,  "Ueber  Lope  de 
Vega's  El  Castigo  sin  Venganza,"  in  Zeitschrift  fiir  Rom.  Phil., 
1901,  p.  411. 

El  Duque  de  Ferrara Autor  [Manuel  Vallejo] 

El  Conde  Federico Arias 

Albano   

Rutilio    

Floro    

Luzindo    


APPENDIX  C  377 

El  Marques  Gonzaga [Francisco  de]  Salas 

Casandra Autora  [Maria  de  Riquelme] 

Aurora Ber[nar]da 

Lucrezia Geronima  [de  Valcazar] 

Batin [Pedro  Garcia]  Salinas 

Cintia Maria  de  Ceballos 

Febo  y  Ricardo 

The  Bernarda  mentioned  above  is  probably  Bernarda  Ramirez 
de  Robles. 

Peligrar  en  los  Remedios  (1634) 

D.  Francisco  de  Rojas  Zorrilla.  MS.  partly  autog.  in  Biblioteca 
Nacional.  Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  2552.  At  the  end,  in  the 
hand  of  Rojas:  "Finished  on  Saturday,  December  9,  1634,  ^or 
Roque  de  Figueroa." 

La  Duquesa  Violante la  Senora  Isabel  [Blanco?] 

Celia,  criada Bernarda  [Ramirez?] 

Bojeton,  criado [Francisco]  Tribino 

Conde  Federico [Manuel]  Coca 

El  Almirante  de  Sicilia Paz 

El  Marques  Alberto,  privado Roque  [de  Figueroa] 

El  Rey  de  Napoles  Sigismundo Francisco  de  la  Calle 

Carlos,  su  hermano Jacinto  Varela 

Infanta  de  Sicilia Maria  de  San  Pedro 

Duque  Conrado Bargas 


La  Desdicha  de  la  Voz  ( 1639) 

Calderon.  Autog.  MS.  dated  at  Madrid,  May  14,  1639;  with 
licenses  of  June  i  and  November  3,  1639.  In  the  Biblioteca 
Nacional.    Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  873. 

Don  Juan Pedro  Manuel  de  Castilla 

Don  Pedro el  Autor  [Antonio  de  Rueda] 

Don  Diego [Diego  de]  Leon 

Don  Luis,  viejo Jusepe  [de  Carrion] 

Feliciano Pedro  [Ascanio] 


378  APPENDIX  C 

Luquete [Diego]  Ossorio 

D»  Beatriz Ma.  de  [Heredia] 

Schack,  Nachtrdge,  p.  87.  This  is  the  company  of  Antonio  de 
Rueda. 

A  un  tiempo  Rey  y  Vasallo  (1642) 

Comedia  de  Luis  de  Belmonte  Bermudez,  del  Dr.  Manuel  Anto- 
nio de  Vargas  y  de  D.  ...  .  MS.  of  the  first  act  in  the  hand  of 
Vargas  and  nearly  the  whole  third  act  in  the  hand  of  Belmonte. 
See  Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  19.  The  author  of  the  second  act 
is  probably  Geronimo  Cancer;  v.  Stiefel,  in  Ztft.  fiir  Roman. 
Philol,  XXXll,  p.  486;  Sanchez-Arjona,  Andes,  p.  295. 

Rey  de  Sicilia Inigo 

Duque  de  Calabria Francisco  Garcia 

Almirante Mejia 

La  Infanta  Beatriz la  S'^  Maria  de  Jesus 

Belisarda,  lahradora Jusepa  de  Salazar 

Silena S""*  Antonia  de  Santiago 

Laura,  dama Jusepa  Roman 

Pasquin,  gracioso Bernardo 

Julio,  cr'iado -  •  •  Salvador 

Principe,  7  anos S"  Francisca  Berdugo 

This  is  the  company  of  Pedro  de  la  Rosa.  This  play  was  written 
for  Juana  de  Espinosa,  then  (1642)  the  widow  of  Tomas  Fernan- 
dez, and  the  manager  of  a  company. 

r 

ha  belligera  Espanola  (?) 

Pedro  Juan  de  Rejaule  y  Toledo  (who  wrote  under  the  pseudo- 
nym Ricardo  de  Turia).  MS.  copy  in  the  Palatina  at  Parma, 
belonging  to  the  early  seventeenth  century.  The  play  was  first 
printed  in  the  Norte  de  la  Poesia  espanola,  at  Valencia,  in  1 61 6, 
a  copy  of  which  I  possess.  See  A.  Restori  in  Studj  di  Filologia 
Romanza,  fasc.  15,  Roma,  1891,  p.  92. 

Guacolda la  S"  Ana  Maria 

D*  Mencia la  S*"'  Juana  [de  Espinosa?  or  de  Segura?] 

D.  Pedro Tomas  Fernandez 

Lantaro Aldana  [ Aldama  ?] 


APPENDIX  C  379 

Rengo Simon  Gutierrez 

Valdiuia Pedro  Maldonado 

Laupi  y  Aluarado Villanueva 

Rauco Lastra 

Pillan  y  Bouadilla Barco 

Gracolano  y  ofro  Indio  moqo Aranda 


Paciencia  en  la  Fortuna  (  ?) 

Anonymous.  Copy  of  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century 
in  the  Biblioteca  Palatina  at  Parma.  See  Restori,  ibid.,  p.  143. 
The  names  of  the  actors  are : 

Luis  de  Estrada,  Carlos,  Juan  Gonzalez,  Pedro  Perez,  Cuebas, 
Nabarete,  Berio,  Belasco,  Cageres,  Barionuebo,  and  Juan  Mazana 
(added  in  a  different  hand). 


Troya  abrasada  (1644) 

Calderon.     Autog.   MS.   in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional,   Madrid. 
Paz  y  Melia,  Catdlogo,  No.  3371. 

Paris Pedro  Manuel 

Hector D*  Veatriz 

Priamo   

Rey  de  Troya,  varba Juan  Matias 

Casandra Maria  Magana 

Elena ,  Autora 

Ismenia,  criada Jusepa 

Achiles Najara 

Sinon Francisco  Albarez 

Menelao,  Rey  de  Esparta Mexia 

Agamemnon,  Rey  de  Atenas Juan  Antonio 

Un  criado  de  Ector 

Viznaga Marin 


ADDENDA  ET  CORRIGENDA 

p.  7,  n.  I.  On  the  Auto  Sacramental  (1520)  of  Lopez 
de  Yanguas,  v.  Cotarelo  in  Revista  de  Archivos 
(1902),  pp.  251,  ff. 

p,  13.  Naharro  is  mentioned  by  Cueva  in  the  third  Epis- 
tola  of  his  Exemplar  poetico: 

"De  fabula  precede  la  comedia, 
Y  en  ella  es  la  inuencion  licenciosa, 
Cual  vemos  en  Naharro  y  Heredia." 

(Sedano,  Parnaso  Espanol,  VIII,  p.  66.) 

p.  71,  n.  2.  La  Casa  confusa  was  represented  by  Pinedo's 
company  on  October  16,  161 8,  Baltasar  Osorio  and 
Maria  Flores  also  taking  part.  (Barrera,  Catdlogo, 
p.  210.) 

p.  122, 1.  23.  Lope  de  Rueda  concludes  his  Colloquio  de 
Camila  with  the  words:  "Senores,  perdonen,  porque 
aqui  se  da  fin  a  nuestro  Colloquio,"  and  his  Colloquio 
de  Tymbria  with :  "Seiiores,  perdonen,  que  con  bailar 
se  dio  fin  a  nuestro  Colloquio."  His  comedia  Arme- 
lina  ends  with  a  similar  phrase,  but  the  appeal  to  the 
audience  as  "El  ilustre  Senado,"  I  do  not  remember 
to  have  seen  in  any  dramatist  before  Lope  de  Vega. 

p.  164, 1.  5.     For  Villahermoso  read  Vallehermoso. 

p.  176,  note,  1.  2.  Strike  out  the  words  "years  before," 
as  the  Plaza  universal  was  published  in  1615. 

381 


382  ADDENDA  ET  CORRIGENDA 

p.  177.  To  what  is  here  said  concerning  the  sums  re- 
ceived by  a  dramatist  for  a  comedia  we  may  add 
that  in  1634  eight  hundred  reals  was  paid  for  a 
comedia  by  Montalvan,  and  nine  hundred  for  a 
comedia  by  Francisco  de  Rojas  and  Antonio  Coello. 
(Perez  Pastor,  Bibliografia  Madrilena,  III,  pp.  452, 

463.) 

p.  232,  n.  To  the  playwrights  mentioned  may  be  added 
Antonio  Coello,  Antonio  Solis,  Geronimo  de  Cuellar, 
and  Luis  Velez  de  Guevara,  who  writes  in  1633  that 
he  is  unable  to  leave  his  house  for  want  of  a  garment 
to  cover  him.  ( Perez  Pastor,  Bibliografia  Madrilena, 
III,  p.  512.) 

p.  238,  n.  I.  The  episode  related  by  Hume,  it  may  be 
remarked,  was  related  by  Frangois  van  Aerssen, 
Voyage  d'Espagne,  Cologne,  1666,  pp.  47-49,  and 
repeated  by  Madame  d'Aulnoy,  who  gives  the 
Countess  of  Lemos  as  authority  for  her  story. 
(Relation  du  Voyage  d'Espagne,  La  Haye,  1693, 
Vol.  II,  p.  20.)  It  is,  of  course,  indignantly  rejected 
by  Barrera,  Catdlogo,  p.  483.     It  may  not  be  amiss 

f  to  add  the  following,  concerning  the  comedia,  also 
from  Madame  d'Aulnoy:  "Autrefois,  continua-t-il 
[D.  Agustin  Pacheco],  les  personnes  vertueuses  ne 
se  pouvoient  resoudre  d'aller  a  la  Comedie;  on  n'y 
voyait  que  des  actions  opposees  a  la  modestie;  on  y 
entendoit  des  discours  qui  blessoient  la  liberte,  les 
Acteurs  faisoient  honte  aux  gens  de  bien;  on  y  flatoit 
le  vice,  on  y  condamnoit  la  Vertu;  les  combats  en- 
sanglantoient  la  Scene;  le  plus  foible  etoit  toujours 
opprime  par  le  plus  fort,  &  I'usage  autorisoit  le 
crime:  Mais  depuis  que  Lopes  {sic)  de  Vega  a 
travaille  avec  succez  a  reformer  le  Theatre  Espagnol, 
il  ne  s'y  passe  plus   rien  de  contraire   aux  bonnes 


ADDENDA  ET  CORRIGENDA  383 

moeurs;  &  le  Confident,  le  Valet,  ou  le  Vlllageois, 
gardant  leur  simplicite  naturelle,  &  la  rendant  agre- 
able  par  un  enjoiiement  naif  trouvent  le  secret  de 
guerlr  nos  Princes,  &  meme  nos  Rois",  de  la  maladie 
de  ne  point  entendre  les  veritez  011  leurs  defauts 
peuvent  avoir  part.  C'est  lui  qui  prescrivit  des  regies 
a  ses  eleves,  &  qui  leur  enseigna  de  faire  des  Come- 
dies en  trois  Jornadas,  qui  veut  dire  en  trois  Actes. 
Nous  avons  vu  depuis  briller  les  Montalvanes,  Men- 
dozas,  Rojas,  Alarcones,  Velez,  Mira  de  Mescuas, 
Coellos,  Villaizanes;  mais  enfin  Don  Pedro  Calderon 
excella  dans  le  serieux,  &  dans  le  comique,  &  il  passa 
tous  ceux  qui  I'avoient  precede."  {Relation  du 
Voyage  d'Espagne,  II,  p.  98.) 

p.  266.  Among  the  early  defenders  of  the  comedia  An- 
dres Rey  de  Artieda  might  have  been  mentioned. 

p.  339.  In  1620  Sancho  de  Paz,  autor  de  comedias,  ob- 
tained a  privilege  from  Cardinal  Borgia  to  form  a 
company  of  Spanish  players  in  Naples;  "and  nobody 
else  nor  any  other  company  may  represent  in  Naples 
except  he."  (Croce,  /  Teatri  di  Napoli,  p.  91.)  In 
1 62 1  Francisco  de  Leon  obtained  a  similar  privilege, 
and  in  1620  and  1621  Sancho  de  Paz  and  Francisco 
de  Leon  represented  in  the  Teatro  de'i  Fiorentini. 
{Ibid.,  p.  92.)  In  1630  and  1631  Francisco  Malhelo 
and  Gregorio  Laredo  had  companies  in  Naples. 

The  Biblioteca  Nacional  also  contains  a  MS.  of  Lope  de 
Vega's  Qiiien  todo  lo  quiere,  undated,  new  No.  1 6798. 
Paz  y  Melia,  Catalogo,  No.  2810,  with  the  follow- 
ing cast : 

don  Ju" P°  M*  [Pedro  Manuel  de  Castilla] 

don  fernando [Antonio  de]  Rueda 

d.  p°  leon.  i.e.  Don  Pedro [Diego  de]  Leon 


384  ADDENDA  ET  CORRIGENDA 

fabio    

bernal osorio  [Diego  Osorio  de  Velasco] 

octabia bisenta  [Vicenta ?] 

Julia • Catalina  [de  Acosta] 

Ines Ant'  [Antonia  Infante] 

D*  Ana Jasinta  [Jacinta  de  Herbias  y  Flores] 

Leonarda    

This  is  the  company  of  Antonio  de  Rueda,  about 
1639-40. 

The  following  cast  of  an  entremes  of  the  sixteenth  century 
I  owe  to  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Crawford.  It  is  entitled 
Entremes  de  un  Hi  jo  que  nego  asu  Padre,  manuscript 
of  two  leaves  in  folio  in  the  Biblioteca  Nacional, 
in  a  hand  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Padre  del  licenciado Caspar  de  huerta 

licenciado Christoual  de  castro 

muger michael 

amo al**  robleno 

villano   torres 

There  is  nothing  In  the  manuscript  to  Indicate  the 
date  of  representation.  The  above  cast  is  interest- 
^  ing,  however,  from  the  fact  that  the  role  of  the 
woman  {muger)  is  played  by  a  man  (michael), 
which  is  an  evidence  of  the  early  representation  of 
this  entremes. 


INDEX 


Abadia,  Juan  de  la,  i6i,  162 
Acacio,  Juan,  52,  53,  63,  133,  221 
Academia  degli  Intronati,  22  and  n.  i 
Actors  and  Actresses:  dissoluteness 
of  the  latter  causes  women  to  be 
banished  from  the  stage,  145 ; 
number  of  actors  in  a  company, 
145,  146 ;  actors  in  Moliere's  com- 
pany, 145,  n.  3  ;  actors  take  several 
parts.  146;  hardships  of  the  pro- 
fession, 159;  Rojas's  account  of, 
159-160;  Cervantes  on,  160;  ac- 
tors in  France,  160,  n.  2;  addicted 
to  gambling,  164-165;  account  of 
his  adventures  related  by  Rojas, 
166-169;  actors  sometimes  patched 
up  plays,  171-172;  they  ill-treat 
the  poetasters,  172-173 ;  engaged 
at  Shrovetide,  181;  the  salaries 
of  actors,  181-188;  actors  from 
Madrid  visit  Valencia,  193-194; 
Spanish  actors  in  Paris,  170,  n., 
339-341;  character  of  actresses, 
206-207 ;  women  forbidden  to  act, 
207 ;  forbidden  on  the  stage  in 
1613  (  ?),  220,  n.  2  ;  when  actresses 
may  be  visited,  246;  the  Partidas 
of  Alfonso  on  actors,  254;  with- 
out civil  rights  in  France,  254; 
the  profession  of  acting,  255;  un- 
der the  ban  of  the  church,  256- 
257;  their  general  bad  character, 
266-267;  celebrated  actresses, 
268-269;  temptations  of,  269- 
270;  Madame  d'AuInoy  on,  270; 
anonymous  writer  on,  270,  n.  2 ; 
visit  other  countries,  339-341 
Admission  to  the  theater,  price  of, 

112-H5 
Adulter  a  (La)  penitente,  198 
Adulterio    (El)   de  la  Esposa,  177, 

n.  1,  307,  n. 
Adversa  {La)  Fortuna  de  Rut  Lo- 
pez de  Avalos,  196 
Aerssen,  Francis  van,  99,  319;   his 
account   of   autos   and   comedias, 
324-328 


Afectos  de  Odio  y  Amor,  198 
Aguado,  Andres,  40,  n.  i 
Aguilar,  Francisco  de,  83,  n. 
Alarcon,   Juan   Ruiz   de,    84,    n.   2, 

89.  n.,  93,  n.  3,  94,  n. ;  prologue  to 

his  Comedias,  117;  180^  186,  226, 

n.  1,  232,  n.,  341 
Alcaraz,  Diego  Lopez  de,  107,  109, 

n.,  no,  165,  214,  215,  221-229 
Alcayde   (El)   de  si  mismo,  86,  87, 

89 
Alcazar,  royal  palace,  230:  theater 

in,  230;  representations  in,  237 
Alcina,  opera,  331 
Alcocer,  Fr.  Francisco  de,  259 
Alcozer,  Juan  de,  299 
Aldea  Gallega,  155 
Alegria,  Francisco  de,  41,  204,  205 
Alenian,  Mateo,  154,  n. 
Aletnana  {La),  dance,  74,  n.  2 
Alexander  VI.,  Pope,  256,  n.  2 
Alfonso  the  Learned,  his  Siete  Par- 
tidas, 4,  n.  I,  252-253,  254 
Algunas    Hazanas    de    D.    Garcia 

Hurtado  de  Mendoza,  180 
Allen,   H.  Warner,   121,  n.  2,    129, 

n.  2 
Alleyn,  Edward,  no,  n.  i 
Almenas  {Las)  de  Toro,  268 
Almenda,  Antonio  de,  68,  n.  2 
Almonacid,  Diego  de,  50,  55,  57 
Almonacid,  Diego  de  {el  mozo),  57 
Alvarez,  Luis,  184 
Alvarez  de  Vitoria,  Francisco,  223 
Amante  {El)  agradecido,  93,  n.  3 
Amantes  {Los)  de  Teruel,  199 
Amar  como  se  ha  de  amar,  186 
Amelia,  Juan  Jeronimo,    no,  n.  2, 

193  and  n.  8,  223 
Amor  con  Vista,  165,  n. 
Amor,  Pleito   y  Desafio    (Lope   de 

Vega),  236 
Amor  {El)  vandolero,  94,  n.  i 
Anaya,  Maria  de,  340 
Andaluces,  Los,  150,  n. 
Andreini,  Virginia,  269,  n.  2 
Angeles,  Maria  Ic  los,  63,  268 


385 


386 


INDEX 


Angulo,  Juan  de,  183,  184,  n.  i 

Animal  (El)  de  Ungria,  95,  n.  4 

Antonia  Infante,  127,  188,  292,  294 

Antonia  Manuela,  155,  186 

Antonozzi,  Maria,  engineer,  243,  n. 

"Apariencias,"  52,  80,  97-98 

"Appearances,"  98,  99 

Aranjuez,  representations  at,  238 

Araucana  (La),  297,  n. 

Arauco  domado,  90 

Arbeau's  Orchesographie,  74,  n.  2 

Arcadia  (La),  176 

Archduchess  Margaret,  Queen  of 
Philip  IV.,  211;  comedias  repre- 
sented before,  230-231 

Archer,  William,  91,  n.  2 

Argensola,  Lupercio  Leonardo  de, 
261,  262 

Arias  de  Penafiel,  Damian,  202, 
223  ;  greatest  of  actors,  267 

Ariosto,  his  comedias  represented  in 
Spain,  21 

Armona,  Antonio,  36,  n.  2,  iii,  n.  3 

"Arte  nuevo  de  hacer  Comedias," 
105,  287,  288 

Artieda,  Andres  Rev  de,  79,  n.  i 

Asalto  (El)  de  Mastrique,  84,  n.  i 

Ascanio,  Pedro  de,  188,  190,  n.  2, 
194,  223,  285 

Audiences  in  the  corrales,  117;  mo- 
rality of,  120-121  ;  in  France,  Ger- 
many, and  Italy,  120-121 ;  ap- 
proval of,  indicated  by  shouting 
Victor!  121-124;  enter  without 
paying,  124-126;  ruffianism  of, 
125-130;  show  disapproval  by 
hissing,  etc.,  279 ;  account  of  Lo- 
pez Pinciano,  333-334;  account 
of  Juan  de  Zabaleta,  334-338 
^Aulnoy,  Countess  of,  99,  121,  239, 
n.  2,  270  and  n.  2,  330,  331-333 

Auto  de  San  Martinho,  7,  n.  i, 
48,  n.  I 

"Autor  de  Comedias,"  meaning  of, 
9i  32,  33,  n.  I,  169-170;  dishonest 
practices  of,  173-174;  become 
members  of  other  companies,  190; 
sums  received  for  a  performance, 
194-197;  guaranteed  an  ayuda 
de  casta,  199;  amount  received  for 
representing  an  auto,  200-202; 
autor es  between  1600  and  1603, 
214;  number  limited  to  eight  by 
the  decree  of  1603,  215-216; 
autor  es  between  1603  and  1615, 
216;  twelve  permitted  by  decree 
of  1615,  220;  flH/orifj  between  1615 
and  1640,  223;  appointed  to  rep- 


resent autos,  300,  302 ;  when  au- 
tos  were  represented,  303-305; 
number  of  autos  represented,  303- 
304;  amount  received  for  repre- 
senting autos,  305-306 

Autos,  earliest,  6;  represented  by 
guilds,  7;  representations  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  23,  24;  mean- 
ing of  auto,  48,  n.  1 ;  Auto  de  la 
Ungion  de  David,  65,  n.  i;  Auto 
de  Santa  Maria  Egipciaca,  80 

Autos,  Farsas,  etc.,  Coleccion  He,  ed. 
Rouanet,  7,  n.  2,  10,  n.  3,  65,  n.  i, 
287,  n.  2 

Autos  Sacramentales,  earliest,  7,  n. 
I ;  distinguished  from  autos,  7, 
n.  1  and  2,  9;  at  Toledo  in 
1580,  lo;  represented  in  the 
corrales  of  Seville,  53;  apa- 
riencias in,  97,  98 ;  costumes  for, 
107-108 ;  four  represented  annu- 
ally in  Madrid,  177,  n.  i;  autos 
written  by  Lope  de  Vega,  177, 
n.  I ;  amount  paid  for,  177.  n.  i ; 
sums  paid  for  representing  an 
auto,  200-202;  represented  be- 
fore Philip  III.,  231;  again  pre- 
sented after  the  death  of  Prince 
Baltasar,  248 ;  opposition  of  the 
church  to,  261-266,  316;  the  rep- 
resentation of  autos,  297-312; 
suppressed  by  Charles  III.,  297, 
n. ;  earliest  autos  represented 
in  Madrid.  299;  Job,  Santa  Cata- 
I'ina,  La  Pcsca  de  S.  Pedro,  La 
Vendimia  Celestial,  El  Rey  Bal- 
tasar, 299 ;  description  of  the 
autos  Job  and  S^  Catalina,  301 
and  n.;  four  represented  annu- 
ally in  Madrid,  302;  autos  in 
Seville,  304,  n.  2,  305;  amount 
paid  for  representing,  305-306: 
sums  received  bv  dramatists  for 
writing,  306-307;  the  painting  of 
the  carros,  308  and  n. ;  number  of 
carros,  309-310;  stage  for  autos, 
310-311;  the  properties,  311 ;  dis- 
order in  representing  autos,  313; 
edict  of  the  Bishop  of  Badajoz, 
314-315  ;  the  Corpus  procession  in 
Seville,  315;  suppressed  in  1765, 
316;  autos  in  the  corrales,  317- 
318;  great  expense  of  autos,  319; 
sums  paid  to  Calderon  for  autos, 
321 ;  contemporary  accounts  of 
the  representation  of  autos, 
325  ff.;  account  of  Madame 
d'AuInoy,  332 


INDEX 


387 


Avendano,   Cristobal  de,   139,  n.   i, 

193,   199.  223,  229,  234,  235,  301, 

n.,  305 
Avendano,  Francisco  de,  19 
"Aventuras  del  Bachiller  Trapaza," 

173,  n. 
Averiguador,  El,  112,  n.,  237,  n.  i; 

249,  n.  2 
Avila,  Diego  de,  13,  n.  3 
Avila,  Juan  de,  41 
Avisos  and  Anaies,  273 
Avisos  de  Pellicer,  240,  n.  4 
\Ay  Verdades!  que  en  Amor,  98 
Ayala,  Da  Elvira  de,  49,  50,  n.  i 
Ayala,  D.  Gaytan  de,  102 
Ayamonte,  Marquis  of,  51,  53 
Ayuso,  Miguel  de,  147 

Badajoz,  Bishop  of,  314-315 
Balbin,  Domingo,  186,  200,  216,  231, 

309,  317 
Baltasar,  Prince,  240;  death  of, 247; 

248 
Baltasara  {La),  278,  n.  2 
Bances  Candamo,  Francisco  de,  266, 

n.  I,  276,  n.  2 
Bandos  (Los)  de  Verona,  240,  n.  4 
Bapst,   G.,   65,   n.   i,   loi,    105,    106, 

137,  138,  140 
"Baptism  of  St.  John,"  auto,  23 
Barbieri,  Nicolo  (Beltrame),  140 
Barcelona,  festival  of  Corpus  at,  4; 

cscarraman  at,  73 
Bargagli,  Scipione,  22,  n.  i 
"Barquillos,"  278 
Barrera,  D.  Cayetano  A.  de  la,  32, 

n-  3.  79.  n.  i,  235,  244,  n.  3,  245, 

n.  2,  288,  n.  I 
Barrio,  Cristobal  de,  150,  n. 
Barrionuevo,      D.      Jeronimo      de. 

Avisos,  243,  n.,  244,  n.  2 
Baschet,  Armand,  29,  n.  i,  142,  n.  2 
Bassompierre,  Le  Marechal  de,  340, 

n.  3 

Bastidor=:wing  of  stage  scenery, 
92,  n.  3,  97  and  n. 

Basto,  Conde  del,  180 

Basurto,  Diego  Lopez,  184 

Bayles,  69 ;  distinguished  from 
Danzas,  69,  n.  3  ;  the  Zarabanda, 
70-71;  various  bayles,  the  Cha- 
cona,  Escarraman,  etc.,  72-73 ; 
bayles  antiguos,  "jw  Bayle  del 
Caballero  de  Olmedo,  70,  n.  3 ; 
Bayle  de  Jdcara,  125,  n.  4;  Bayle 
de  la  Entrada  de  la  Co  media, 
126,  n. 

Bella  (Lfl)  Aurora,  93,  n.  3 


Belligera  {La)  Espanola,  83,  n. 

Belmonte,  Luis  de,  180 

Benzon,  Luisa,  183 

Berenger  de  Palaciolo,  4 

Bernardo  de  Bovadilla,  Luis,  223 

Bertaut,  Frangois,  118,  n.  3,  121  and 
n.,  328,  329 

Bezon,  Juan  de,  186 

Bezona,  La  =  Ana  Maria,  186 

Bibbiena,  Cardinal,  La  Calandra, 
256 

Blason  (El)  de  los  Chaves,  278,  n. 

Bocangel,  D.  Gabriel  de,  232,  n. 

Bodas  (Las)  del  Alma  con  el  Amor 
divino,  211 

Bonilla  y  San  Martin,  A.,  16,  n.  i, 
71,  n.  I 

Booksellers,  dishonesty  of,  174 

Borja,  Vicenta  de,  107 

Bosberg,  Sarah  v.,  140 

Bourland,  C.  B.,  18,  n.  i 

Boxiganga,  the,  153 

Boy  Bishop   (Obispillo),  127 

Braones,  Alonso  Martin  de,  290,  n., 
295,  n.  2 

Bravo,  Pedro,  149 

Buen  Retiro,  the,  238-239;  repre- 
sentations in,  239-243;  visited  by 
the  public,  240 

Bulletin  Hispanique,  10,  n.  4,  28, 
n.  2,  30,  n.  2,  31,  n.  2,  32,  n.  i, 
33)  n.  5,  34,  n.  i  and  2,  35,  n.  1  and 
2,  36,  n.  2,  37,  n.  2,  44,  n.  2,  80,  n., 
107,  n.,  no,  n.  2,  141,  n.  4,  163, 
n.  3,  165,  n.,  177,  n.  i,  202,  n.  7, 
203,  n.  I,  204,  n.  I,  215,  n.  i,  231, 
n.  I,  233,  n.  2,  298,  n.  3,  309,  n.  2 
and  3 

"Bululu,"  the,  151 

Burbadge,  James,  34,  n.  5 

Burgalesa  (La)  de  Lerma,  91,  n.  i 

Burgos,  Antonio  de,  68,  n.  2 

Burgos,  Jeronima  de,  194,  234,  258, 
268 

Burlador  (El)  de  Sevilla,  90,  91 

Burladora  (La)  burlada,  83,  n.,  84, 
n.  I  and  2,  94,  n. 

Burl  as  (Las)  de  Pedro  de  Urde- 
malas,  236 

Burnyng  Knight,  the,  77 

Caballero    (El)    del  Fenix,   i-jj,  n., 

307.  n. 
Caballero  (El)  del  Sol,  102 
Caballeros  (Los)  nuevos,  190 
Cabello,  Ana,  185 
Cabranes.  Diego  de,  259 
Cabrera  de  Cordoba,  Luis,  iii,  210, 


388 


INDEX 


n.  2,  211,  n.  2,  214,  n.,  230  and 
n.  I,  232,  n.  2 
Caida  {La)  de  Faeton,  235 
Calderon,   Maria,    163-164   and   n., 

186,  189,  269 
Calderon,  D.  Pedro,  ix,  74,  n.  2,  86, 
87,  89,  90,  92,  118;  El  galan 
fantasma,  118,  n.  4;  174,  n.  2,  177, 
n.,  197,  198,  199,  202,  226,  n.  I, 
232,  n. ;  Circe,  241 ;  La  Purpura 
de  la  Rosa,  241 ;  El  mayor  En- 
canto  Amor,  242 ;  Los  tres  mayores 
Prodigios,  242,  243,  n.,  244,  n.  2; 
writes  the  autos  in  1645,  247;  the 
autos  of  1648,  248,  276,  n.  2,  279; 
writes  saynetes,  294-295 ;  autos, 
311;  autos  written  for  various 
festivals,  320;  sums  received  for 
them,  321;  writes  autos  till  1681, 

321,  341 
Callar  hasta  la  Ocasion,  32,  n.  3 
Calle,  Francisco  de  la,  295,  n.  3 
Camacho,  Alonzo  Gonzalez,  64,  n.  i, 

187 
"Cambaleo,"  the,  152 
Cancionero  Classense,  70 
Candado,  Luis,  125 
Candau,  Maria,  65,  193,  271,  n. 
Canete,  Manuel,  3,  n.,  7,  n.  1,  15,  16, 

n.  1,  19,  n.  3,  23,  n.  3 
Capellan  {El)  de  la  Virgen,  93,  n.  1 
Caramuel,  J.,   on  the   comedia,   33, 

n.    i;    on   scenery,    86,   n.    i,    163, 

n.  3 ;  on  actors,  267  and  n.,  268, 

n.  3,  269  and  n.  2,  279,  n.  i ;  on  en- 

tremeses,  288,  n.  2 
Carlos  V.  en  Francia,  278,  n. 
Caro,  Rodrigo,  60 
Carrillo,  Jose,  xiii 
iCartwright,  The  Royal  Slave,  99 
Carvallo,  Luis  Alfonso  de,  280,  n., 

286,  n.  3 
Casa  con  dos  Puertas  mala  es  de 

guardar,  199 
Casa  {La)  confusa,  71,  n.  4 
Casamiento  {El)  en  la  Muerte,  96,  n. 
Casamientos   {Los)   de  Joseph,  177, 

n.,  307,  n. 
Casarse  por  defendor,  65 
"Casas  del  Tesoro,"  theater  in,  11 1 
Cascales,  Francisco  de,  227 
Castigar  por  defender,  177 
Castigo  {El)  en  la  Vanagloria,  195 
Castigo  {El)  sin  Venganza,  163,  n.  3 
Castillo,  Alonso  del,  170-171 
Castillo  Solorzano,  A.  de,  173,  n.  i 
"Castradores,"  120,  n. 
Castro,  Beatriz  de,  147,  n. 


Castro,  Francisco  de,  185 

Castro,  D.  Guillen  de,  84,  n.  i,  119, 

n.  I,  177,  180,  226,  n.  I,  341 
Castro,  Luis  de,  150,  n.,  195,  214 
Castro,  D.  Pedro  de.  Archbishop  of 

Granada,  207,  211 
Catalan,  Juan,  63,  184,  223 
Catherine,  Princess,  Duchess  of  Sa- 
voy, 207 
Cauallero    {El)   de  Olmedo,  dance, 

70,  n.  3 
Catitela  contra  Cautela,  235 
Cauteloso  {Lo)  de  un  Guante,  178 
"Cazuela,"  the,   119,   128,   129,   130, 

332,  337-338 

Cebrian,  Pedro,  194,  221 

Celestina,  tr.  by  Mabbe,  121,  n.  2, 
129,  n.  2 

Celos  {Los)  en  el  Caballo,  234,  236 

Celos  engendran  Amor,  236 

Centino,  Alonso  de,  12 

Cerco  {El)  de  Cordoba,  195 

Cerezo  de  Guevara,  Pedro,  147,  223 

Cervantes,  Miguel  de.  La  Galatea, 
13 ;  his  account  of  Lope  de  Rueda, 
16-18;  his  plays  Los  Tratos  de 
Argel,  La  Destruycion  de  Numan- 
cia.  La  Batalla  naual,  18,  20;  his 
Numancia,  21 ;  El  Retablo  de  las 
Mara<villas,  34,  n.  i ;  Don  Quixote, 
45,  n.  2,  62  and  n.,  75,  n.  3,  98, 
29s,  n.  3,  312-313;  on  dancing, 
66;  La  gran  Sultana,  66,  84,  n.  3, 
106,  n. ;  La  Cueva  de  Salamanca, 
70,  n.  3  ;  La  ilustre  Fregona,  72,  n. ; 
El  rufian  Biudo,  68,  n.  3,  72,  n.,  74 ; 
El  gallardo  Espanol,  81,  n.  1,  92; 
La  Casa  de  los  Zelos,  ibid.;  on 
curtains  in  the  theaters,  84;  El 
Rufian  dichoso,  94,  146;  Pedro  de 
Urdemalas,  95,  n.  i,  160,  n.  i ; 
Viage  del  Parnaso,  116,  n.  5;  159, 
El  Licenciado  vidriera,  160;  the 
Colloquio  de  los  Perros,  172-173  ; 
entremeses,  289,  n.,  290,  n. 

Chacona,  the,  72,  73 

Chambers,  "The  Medieval  Stage," 
127,  n. 

Chapman,  J.,  179,  n. 

Charles  V.,  23.  See  also  under 
Pragmatic  a 

Chavarria,  Andres  de,  149 

Chorley,  J.  R.,  230,  n. 

Chu  rchmen  oppose  the  theater,  207  flF., 
255-261 

Cirot,  G.,  263,  n.  i 

Cisneros,  Alonso  de,  28,  n.  2,  32  and 
n.  3.  34.  35.  43.  82,  n.,   131,   142, 


INDEX 


389 


154,  n.,    165,    193,   200,   202,   203, 
n.  I,  211,  n.  3 
Cisneros,  Juana  de,  60 
Claramonte,  Andres  de,  54,  81,  147- 

149,  170,  174,  216,  221 
Clavijo  y  Fajardo,  D.  Jose,  106 
Clemencin,    Diego,    editor    of    Cer- 
vantes, 63,  n.  I,  68,  n.  2,  75,  n.  2, 
80,  n.,  98,  184,  n.,  243,  n.,  272,  n. 
Cobaleda,  Pedro  de,  223 
"Cobradores,"  64,  n.  4 
Coello,  Antonio,  91,  n.  i,  232 
"Cofradia  (La)  de  la  sagrada  Pa- 

sion,"  26  ff.,  40 
"Cofradia  (La)  de  nuestra  Senora 
de  la  Soledad  y  Ninos  expositos," 
27  ff.;  they  erect  their  own  thea- 
ters in  the  Calle  de  la  Cruz  in 
1579  and  in  the  Calle  del  Prin- 
cipe in  1582,  33;  they  buy  a  site 
in  the  Calle  del  Principe,  35,  36; 
build  a  corral,  description  of,  39- 

41 
Coleman,  Mrs.  139 
Collaboration  of  dramatists,  180 
Collier,  J.  Payne,  27,  n.  i,  28,  n.  i, 
34.   n-   5.   37.   39,   n.    i,   43,   n.   i, 
44.  n-   3.  70,  n.   i,  99,   no,   n.   i, 
132,  n.  2,  255 
CoUoquio  de  los  Perros,  172-173 
Colloquio  de  Timbria,  CoUoquio  de 

Camila,  281 
Comedia  del  Molino,  91,  n.  i 
Comedias,  the  term  comedia  defined, 
274-275;  the  various  kinds  of 
comedias,  275-277;  the  staging 
of,  76-103;  Rojas,  "Loa  de  la 
Comedia,"  78-81;  comedias  de 
santos,  80,  144,  275;  comedias 
de  capa  y  espada,  or  comedias  de 
ingenio,  85,  275-276  ;  comedias  de 
teatro  {de  ruido  or  de  cuerpo), 
80,  86,  88,  275,  276;  comedias  de 
apariencias,  109;  comedias  a  no- 
ticia,  comedias  a  fantasia,  275; 
the  price  of  a  comedia,  177-178; 
sums  paid  for  performing  a  come- 
dia, 194-197;  comedias  canceled 
by  order  of  the  King,  198,  243 ; 
opposition  to  the  comedia,  207  ff. ; 
no  artisans  permitted  to  visit  the 
comedia  on  work-days,  215,  n. ; 
decrees  regulating  comedias, 
208  ff.;  decree  of  1598,  209-210; 
decree  of  1600,  211-213;  decree 
of  1603,  215-216;  decree  of  1608, 
216-220;  decree  of  1615,  220- 
223 ;  the  comedia  no  longer  flour- 


ishing, 224;  other  measures  en- 
acted concerning  comedias,  225, 
n. ;  comedias  seldom  acted  in 
some  cities,  227 ;  comedias  repre- 
sented before  the  King  and 
Queen,  230-246;  death  of  Prince 
Baltasar,  the  question  of  again 
permitting  comedias  raised,  247 ; 
conditions  recommended,  247 ; 
comedias  again  allowed  to  be 
represented,  248 ;  the  petition  of 
1646-47  to  reopen  the  corrales, 
248-249;  comedias  resumed  in 
the  King's  palace,  249;  to  the 
public,  250;  comedias  written  by 
a  tailor  of  Toledo,  276,  n. ;  the 
representation  of  a  comedia,  277- 
279 ;  gratuitous  representations, 
ibid.;  the  licensing  of  comedias, 
277;  new  comedias,  278,  n.  i; 
the  Loa,  279-286;  the  first  act 
followed  by  an  entremes,  286; 
Lope  de  Vega  on,  287-288;  con- 
temporary accounts  of  the  repre- 
sentation of  comedias,  322  ff.; 
decline  of  the  comedia,  341 
Comedias  escogidas,  Vol.  I,  279, 
Vol.  XII,  88,  n.,  Vol.  XXIX, 
181 
Comedie  Fran<;aise,  loi 
Comella,  his  Cristobal  Colon,  97 
Comendadores    {Los)    de   Cordoba, 

92,  132,  156 
"Coramedia(La)dell'  arte,"  29,  n.  i, 

30,  44.  45 
Como  se  enganan  los  Ojos,  234,  237 
Companies  of  players,  145;  number 
in  a  company,  145 ;  the  company 
of  Moliere  in  1658,  145,  n.  3; 
licensed  in  Spain,  146;  companias 
reales  or  de  titulo,  companias  de 
la  legua,  146,  225;  companias  de 
parte,  146-149;  various  smaller 
companies  as  described  by  Rojas, 
150-154;  the  compahia,  153-154; 
the  traveling  of  companies,  154- 
158;  companies  on  the  decline, 
197-198;  number  of  companies  in 
Spain,  225.  See  also  under  De- 
crees 
"Compania(La)espanola,"  149,  n.  3, 

195 
Conde  {ED  Alarcos,  195 
Conde  {El)  de  Sex,  91,  n.  i 
Conde{El)loco,  of  Morales,  79,  n.  1 
Conde  {El)  Lucanor,  244,  n. 
Condesa  {la)  Matilda,  196 
"Confident!,  I,"  45,  46 


390 


INDEX 


"Confidentos  itallanos,  Los,"  142 
and  n.  2 

"Conformes,  Los,"  129,  n.,  149,  196 

Confusion  {La)  de  un  jardin,  123,  n. 

Conquista  (La)  de  Or  an,  330,  n. 

Conguista  (La)  de  Toledo,  180 

Constancia  (La)  de  Arcelina,  49 

"Contra  los  Juegos  piiblicos,"  71, 
n.  4,  293,  294,  298,  n. 

Contreras,  D.  Antonio  de,  245 

Coquette  {La)  ou  le  Favori,  65,  n.  1 

Cordoba,  theater  in,  192 

Cordoba,  Fray  Caspar  de,  211,  212, 
n.  I,  213 

Cordoba,  Maria  de  {Amarilis),  185, 
186,  189,  268  and  n.  3,  271,  n. 

Corneille,  Examen  de  Melite,  100; 
Nicom^de,  145,  n.  3 

Corpus  Christi,  festival  of,  insti- 
tuted in  1264,  4;  early  celebra- 
tions at  Seville,  4;  in  1538,  21 ;  in 
1563,  23  ;  in  1570,  23-24,  48,  n.  i ; 
dances  at,  71-75 

Corrales: — The  corrales  of  Madrid  : 
the  corral  in  the  Calle  del  Sol, 
the  Corral  of  Isabel  Pacheco,  the 
Corral  of  Burguillos,  27,  28 ;  the 
Corral  de  Puente,  28,  n.  2,  30-33, 
n.  4  and  5,  34;  representations  in, 
as  late  as  1584,  34,  43,  m;  the 
Corral  de  la  Pacheca,  28,  n.  2, 
29;  description  of,  29-30,  31-33 
and  n.  4;  the  favorite  playhouse, 
35;  the  Corral  del  Principe,  30, 
32,  n.  3;  building  of,  36,  39-41. 
42,  n.  I,  43,  44,  iii;  the  Corral 
de  la  Cruz,  30,  n.  2;  building  of, 
in  1579,  33  fl. ;  first  representation 

_  in,  33;  Ganassa  appears  in,  35, 
'  41,  43 ;  the  Cruz  and  Principe  the 
only  corrales  after  1587,  43,  in; 
changes  in  1631,  ii2,  n. ;  the  Co- 
rral de  Valdivieso,  31;  represen- 
tations in  the  corrales,  when,  33; 
representations  suspended  in  1581, 
35;  description  of  the  corrales, 
41-43  ;  closed  on  account  of  the 
death  of  Philip  IIL,  54,  229; 
music  in,  62  ff. ;  performances  in, 
when.  III,  112;  the  price  of  seats, 
113-115;  two  fees  paid,  116;  au- 
diences in,  117;  women  visit  the 
corrales,  118-120;  men  enter 
without  paying,  124;  ruffianism 
in,  125-129;  deadheads,  126; 
closed  during  the  summer,  133; 
the  rental  of,  204;  the  corrales 
reopened   in    1621,   229;    seats   in 


the  corrales,  134-136;  closed  on 
account  of  the  death  of  Queen 
Isabel,  246 ;  on  account  of  the 
death  of  Prince  Baltasar,  247 ; 
of  Philip  IV.,  250;  on  account  of 
the  pest  in  1682,  251;  the  co- 
rrales of  Seville:  the  Corral  de 
D.  Juan,  29,  n.  1,  47,  48,  113, 
131;  the  Corral  de  San  Pablo, 
47,  n.  2;  the  Coliseo  del  Duque 
de  Medina  Sidonia,  47,  n.  2; 
the  Corral  de  las  Atarazanas, 
47,  48,  49,  50;  the  Corral  de 
la  Alcoba,  47,  48,  50;  rent  of, 
in  1585,  205;  San  Pedro,  47,  5I; 
the  Huerta  de  D'^  Elvira,  47,  49, 
52;  rental  of,  53,  54;  torn  down, 
59,  117,  125;  the  Coliseo,  48,  50; 
construction  of,  51-52;  rental  of, 
53;  destroyed  by  fire,  54;  rebuilt, 
54,  59;  statistics  concerning,  55- 
57;  again  destroyed  by  fire,  60; 
rebuilt,  61;  La  Monteria,  48,  57- 
59;  cost  of,  59;  rental  of,  59,  60; 
destroyed  by  fire,  61,  65,  97,  n.  2, 
125,  126,  128;  the  price  of  admis- 
sion to  the  corrales,  115-116  and 
n.  5,  117,  n. ;  men  enter  without 
paying,  124-126;  ruffianism,  128 
and  n.,  129;  plays  viewed  from 
the  housetops,  i3oy~forra/^j  closed 
during  summer,  133;  visited  by 
players  from  Madrid,  192;  the 
number  of  representations  in  the  Z)" 
Elvira  and  the  Coliseo  from  i6n 
to  1614,  203;  rent  of  the  Coliseo 
in  161 1,  205;  the  corrales  closed 
in  1646,  248;  representations 
again  begun  in  the  Coliseo  in 
1648,  248.  Corrales  in  the  Span- 
ish colonies,  129,  n. 

Correa,  actor,  19 

Cortes  {Las)  de  la  Mu^r/^,  312-313 

Cortes,  N.  A.,  10,  n.  1,  11,  61,  n.  2 

"Cortesi,  I,"  44,  n.  i 

Cortinas,  Da  Leonor,  mother  of  Cer- 
vantes, 34 

Costanza,  La,  32,  n.  3 

Coster,  A.,  49,  n.  3 

Costumes  on  the  Spanish  stage,  104- 
105,  106 ;  on  the  French  stage,  105  ; 
anachronisms  in  plays,  105 ;  cos- 
tume an  indication  of  rank,  105, 
n.  2;  magnificence  of  costumes, 
106-107;  great  expense  of,  107, 
n.  3,  108;  pawning  of,  no 

Cotarelo  y  Mori,  E.,  10,  n.  1,  11,  13, 
14,  n.  1,  16,  n.  I,  71,  n.  3,  73,  85, 


INDEX 


391 


n.  I,  106,  112,  n.  I,  115,  n.  i,  143, 
163,  n.  3,  193,  212,  n.  I,  213,  n., 
214,  n.,  216,  n.,  220,  n.  i,  223,  n., 
226,  n.,  227,  n.,  256,  n.  i,  251,  n., 
255)  256,  257-262,  290,  n.  I,  295, 
n.  3,  316 
Council  of  Aranda,  the,  253 
Court  performances,  when,  in,  n.  2, 

230-246 
Crawford,  J.  P.  W.,  23,  n.  3,  290,  n.  i 
Creizenach,  W.,  21,  22,  n.,   115,  n., 

138,  n.  2,  161,  n.,  277,  n.  i 
Crespi  de  Borja,  227 
Croce,  B.,  33,  n.  2 

"Cronica  de  los  hechos  del  Condes- 
table   Miguel   Lucas   de   Iranzo," 
141 
Cruz,  Fray  Jeronimo  de  la,  264 
Cruz,  Ramon  de  la,  295 
Cruzada  Villaamil,  St.,  237 
Cuebas,  Francisco  de  las,  23,  n.  3 
Cueua    {La)    de   Salamanca    [Cer- 
vantes), 70,  n.  3 
Cueva   (La)   de  Salamanca   {Alar- 
con),  93,  n.  3 
Cueva,  Juan  de  la,  13,  49 
Cumplir  con  su  Obligacion,  122 
Cunningham,  F.,  76 

Dama  {La)  boba,  176,  268 
Dama  {La)  Corregidor,  197 
Dancers,    Spanish,    famous    among 

the  Romans,  66  and  n.  2;  dances 

at  Corpus,  67-69 
Dances,  71-75.    See  also  under 

Bayles 
D'Ancona,  Alessandro,  22,  44,  n.  3 

and  4,  45,  46,  n.  1,  140,  n.  3,  142, 

n.  2,  256,  n.  2 
**Danza  de  cascabel,"  68  and  n.  2 
*'Danza  de  espadas,"  69,  n.  2 
Danza  de  la  Muerte  by  Pedraza,  6, 

7,  n.  I 
*'Danzas  habladas,"  75 
Dar  la  Vida  por  su  Dama,  232 
Davenant's  Siege  of  Rhodes,  139, 

De  Cosario  a  Cosario,  91,  n.  i 
"De  Spectaculis,"  262,  263,  n. 
Decrees  regulating  the  theaters, 
207;  rescript  of  1598,  207-210; 
decree  of  1600,  211-213;  decree 
of  1603,  215-216;  decree  of  1608, 
2x6-220;  decree  of  1615,  220- 
223 ;  other  measures  enacted  re- 
specting the  theaters,  225 ;  decree 
of  1615  a  dead  letter,  245;  decree 
of  1641,  245;  decree  of  1646-47, 


249  and  n. ;  decree  of  1653,  250 
and  n.  4;  decree  of  1665,  251 

Degollado,  El,  49 

"Degollado,"  the,  a  fashion,  272, 
n.  2 

Dekker,  Thomas,  64,  n.  4,   178  and 

n.  3 
Delpino's  Spanish  Dictionary,  67, 

n.  3.  75,  n.  3 
Desden  {El)   con  el  Desden,  123 
Desdichado   {El)  en  fingir,  84,  n.  2 
Despois,  E.,  66,  n. 

Despreciada  {La)  Querida,  234,  236 
"Dia  (EH  de  Fiesta  por  la  Tarde," 

334-338 
Diablo   {El)   mudo,  202 
"Diaiogos  de  la  Agricultura,"  260 
"Dialogos  de  las  Comedias,"  263 
Diaz,  Alonso,  79,  80 
Diaz,  Pedro,  79,  80 
"Diccionario   de   Autoridades,"   73, 

n.,  291,  n.  4 
Diez,  Caspar,  12 
Dios  hace  Reyes,  229 
Docieur  {Le)  amour eux,  145,  n.  3 
Doctor  {El)  Carlino,  124 
Don  Sancho  el  Malo,  236 
Dona  Ana,  Queen,  death  of,  35 
Dona  Beatriz  de  Sil'va,  85,  n.  i 
Doors   at   back   of   stage,   85,   n.   2, 

and  see  under  Staging 
Dos  Amantes  {Los)  del  Cielo,  90 
Dramatists,      difficulties     of,     with 
actors,    173-174;    with    booksell- 
ers,   174;    with    literary    pirates, 
175-176;      honorarium     received 
by    them,    177-178;    by    English 
dramatists,     178-180;    collabora- 
tion of,    180;    morality  of   plays, 
266,  n.  2;   sums  received  for  an 
auto,  306-307 
Drayton,  Michael,  178,  n.  3 
Dressing-room.     See  Vestuario 
Dueno  {El)  de  las  Estrellas,  89,  n. 

Eliche,  Marquis  of,  198,  243,  n. 
Elizabethan  Age,  number  of  plays, 

ix;  morality  of  plays,  120 
Embustes    {Los)    de  Fabia,  87  and 

n.  I 
Encanto    {El)    sin  Encanto,  92  and 

n.  3 
Encantos  {Los)  de  Merlin,  79,  n.  i 
Enciso,  Bartolome  de,  307 
Enciso,  Diego  Ximenez  de,  276,  n.  2 
English  actors  in  Germany,  114,  n.; 

trial  performances,  277,  n.  i 
English  court  plays,  76-78 


392 


INDEX 


English  theaters,    actors,   etc.     See 

under  London 
Enredos  {Los)  de  Benetillo,  132 
Entremes  de  los  Pareceres,  119,  n.  2 
Entremeses,   69;   definition  of,  286; 
entremesos  in  Valencia,  287;  their 
origin,  287 ;   entremes  de  las  Es- 
teras,    287,    n.    2 ;     entremes    de 
Sebastian  de  Horozco,  287,  n.  2; 
the   entremeses   in  Lope's  Fiestas 
del  Santissimo  Sacramento,  288; 
in  his   Comedias,   288,   n.   4;   en- 
tremeses   cantados,   290;    number 
of  entremeses  to  a  comedia,  290 
and  n. 
Enzina,  Juan  de  la,  3,  n.,  13,  n.  3, 

256,  n.  2 
Escamilla,  Manuela  de,  198 
Escamilla,  Maria  de,  198 
Escarraman,  the,  72,  73 
Esclavo   {El)   del  Demonio,  61 
Escobedo,  Juan  de,  204 
Escolastica  {La)  zelosa,  91,  n.  i 
"Escotado,"  a  fashion,  247,  n.  2 
Escuelas  {Las)  de  Athenas,  170-171 
"Espana  Sagrada,"  127,  n. 
Espaiiola     {La)     de    Florencia,    88 

and  n. 
Espeyronniere,   Antoine   de   1',    138, 

n.  2,  161,  n. 
Espinel,  Vicente,  176,  n.  i 
Espinosa,  Ana  de,  127,  164 
Espinosa,  Cardinal,  26 
Espinosa,  Gabriel  de,  223 
Espinosa,  Juan  Bautista,  223 
Espinosa,  Juana  de,  249,  n.  2 
Esquilache,  Prince  of,  240 
Esquivel,  Juan  de,  68,  n.  2 
Jlstebanez,  Alonso  and  Juan,  204 
'  Estoile,  Pierre  de  1',  Memoires,  340, 
n.  I 
Examen  {El)  de  Maridos,  94,  n.  i 

Fdcheux  {Les) ,  65,  n.  1 

Fairet  or  Ferre,  Marie,  138  and  n., 

161,  n. 
Fajardo,  Ana,  187 
"Farandula,"  the,  153 
Farsas  sacramentales,  8,  n. 
Favor  {El)  agradecido,  94,  n.  i 
Fe  {La)  pagada,  73,  83,  n.,  125,  n. 
Fe  {La)  rompida,  91,  n.,  92 
Febvre,  Mathieu  le,  called  Laporte, 

139 
Fernandez,  Lucas,  13,  n.  3 
Fernandez  de  Cabredo,  Tomas,  184, 

185,   187,   196,  201,  216,  221,  242, 

272,  285,  317 


Fernandez  de  Guardo,  Alonso,  185 

Fernandez  Guerra,  Luis,  81,  iii, 
n.  3,  227,  n.,  229,  n.  i 

Ferrer,  Padre  Juan,  on  the  CAa- 
cona,  73 

Festivals  given  by  Philip  IV.,  233- 
246 

Fete  {La)  de  I'Amour  et  de  Bac- 
chus, 241,  n.  I 

"Fiesta  de  los  Carros,"  9,  298 

"Fiestas  del  Santissimo  Sacra- 
mento," 288,  289,  n.,  290,  n. 

Figueroa,  Roque  de,  118,  120;  ac- 
count of,  163,  172  and  n.,  186, 
190,  200,  n.,  223,  250,  286,  301,  n. 

Fingida  {La)  Arcadia,  84,  n.  2 

Fingir  y  A  mar,  123,  n. 

Fischmann,  H.,  66,  n.,  146,  n. 

Fitzmaurice-Kelly,  J.,  7  and  n.  i, 
14,  48,  n.  I,  98,  141 

Flaminia,  Italian  actress,  140 

Fleay,  E.  G.,  27,  n.  i,  34,  n.  5,  144, 
n.  2,  255,  n.  2 

Fletcher,  John,  38 

Floridor,  Josias,  139,  n.  i 

Fontana,  Julio  Cesare,  238  and  n.  i 

Foulche-Delbosc,  R.,  328,  n. 

Francesquina,  La   (Silvia  Ron- 
cagli),  46 

Francisca  Maria,  147 

French  players  in  London,  139,  n.  i 

French  theater,  the  stage  setting, 
99-101;  women  on  the  stage,  138, 
139  and  n. ;  actors,  i6o,  n.  2,  254 

Fuensanfa  {La)  de  Cordoba,  190 

Fuente,  Tomas  de  la,  141 

Fuerqa  {La)  del  Inter es,  83,  n. 

Fuerzas  {Las)  de  Sanson,  308 

Furness,  Horace  Howard,  74,  n.  2 

Galan  (El)  de  La  Membrilla,  176 
Galan  {El)  Fantasma,  118,  n.  4 
"Gallarda,  La,"  a  dance,  74,  n.  2 
Gallardo  {El)  Espanol,  92 
Gallardo,   Bartolome  Jose,   108,  n., 

245,  n.  4,  263,  n.  I 
"Gallinero,  El,"  239,  n.  2 
Galvez,  Isabel  de,  198 
Galvez,  Jeronimo,  34,  35,  82,  n. 
Ganar  Amigos,  234 
Ganassa,    Alberto    Nazeli    de,    28, 
n.  2,  29  and  n.,  30,  31,  32,  35  and 
n.  I,  43-44,  48,  131,  141,  204 
"Gangarilia,"  the,  152 
Garcia,  Alonso,  147 
Garcia,  Francisco  {Pupilo),  198,  223 
Garcia  de  Toledo,  Francisco,  150 
"Garduna  (La)  de  Sevilla,"  173,  n. 


INDEX 


393 


"Garnacha,"  the,  152 

Garrick,  David,  106 

Gasque,  Juan,  147 

Gayangos,  D.  Pascual  de,  16,  n.  i, 

68,  D.  2,  III,  n.  I,  231,  n.,  266,  n.  i, 

276,  n.  2,  323 
"Gelosi,  I,"  Italian  company  headed 

by  Ganassa,  29,  n.  i 
Gelves,  Counts  of,  49  and  n. 
Germany,  women  on  the  stage,  140 
"Gigantones,"  298 
Gloria  (La)  de  Niguea,  238  and  n. 
Gongora,  D.  Luis  de,  64,  n.  i 
Gonzalez,  Bernarda,  184,  n. 
Gonzalez,  Gabriel,  204 
Gonzalez,  Jusephe,  183 
Gonzalez,  Matias,  204 
Gonzalez,  Sebastian,  149,  193,  223 
Gonzalez  Carpio,  D*  Juana,  41,  205 
Gonzalez  de  Salas,  J.  A.,  69,  n.  3, 

98,  n.  2,  120,  n.  I 
Gonzalez  Pedroso,   E.,   5,   n.,  7,   n., 

311 
Gradas  (Las)  de  San  Felipe,  272,  n. 
Graf,  Arturo,  256,  n.  2 
Gramont,  Le  Marechal  de,  328,  329 
"Gran  Memoria,"  175 
Gran  Sultana  {La),  66,  n.  2,  84,  n.  3 
Granada,  theater  in,  191,  n. 
Granados,  Antonio,   101,  n.   3,   155, 

183,  190,  215,  221 
Granados,  Juan,  32,  34,  35,  107,  n., 

202 
Graxales,  Juan  de,  185 
Greg,  W.  W.,  ix,  27,  n.  i,  14,  n.  3, 

34,  n.  s,  no,  n.  i,  178,  n.  3,  189, 

n.  2,  277,  n.  I 
"Guardainfantes,"  247 
Guevara,  Luisa  de,  64,  n.  i 
Guevara,  Mariana  de,  184,  185 
"Guzman  de  Alfarache,"  154,  n. 
Guzman,  Getino  de,  34 

Halliwell-Phillipps,  J.  O.,  27,  n.  i 
Hardy,  Alexandre,  99,  170 
Hartzenbusch,  J.  E.,  93,  n.  3,  94,  n., 

134,  n.  2,  180,  n.  2,  228,  n.,  277, 

n.  2,  294 
Haywood,  Thomas,  A   Woman 

Killed  ivith  Kindness,  179,  n. 
Hdzanas  {Las)  del  Marques  de  Ca- 

neie,  236 
Henslowe,  Philip,  34,  n.  5,  170 
Henslowe's  Diary,  ix,  27,  n.  i,  34, 

n.  5,  64,  no,  n.  i,  178,  n.  3,  189, 

n.,  277,  n.  1 
Herbias,  Jacinta  de,  127,  164,  188 
Herbias,  Mariana  de,  184 


Heredia,  Alonso  de,  116,  n.  5,  200, 

216,  221,  231,  304,  309,  317 
Heredia,  Tomas  de,  190,  n.  2 
Hermano  {El)  Francisco,  196 
Hermosa    {La)   Alfreda,  177 
"Hermosura  (La)  de  Angelica,"  233 
Herrera,  D.  Fernando  de,  49,  n.  3 
Herrera,  Jacinto  de,  180 
Herrera,  Maria  de,  150 
Herrera,  Martin  de,  13,  n.  3 
Herrera,  Melchor  de,   10,  n.  4 
Herrera,  D,  Rodrigo  de,  42,  n.  i 
Herrera,  D.  Rodrigo  de,  dramatist, 

Hija  {La)  del  Aire,  237 

Hi  jo   {El)   de  Reduan,  106,  n. 

Hi  jo   {El)  prodigo,  10 

Hinard,  Damas,  87,  n.  i 

"Hispania  Illustrata,"  108,  n. 

History  of  Felix  and  Philomena,  77 

History  of  Sarpedon,  77 

Horn  {L')  enamorat  y  la  Fembra 
satisfeta,  x 

Honorarium  received  by  drama- 
tists, 177-178 

Honra   {La)  hurtada,  196 

Horozco,  Sebastian  de,  8,  n.,  287,  n.  2 

Horses  upon  the  stage,  79,  81 

Hotel  de  Bourgogne,  99,  loi ; 
women  visit,  119,  n.  3;  rabble  at, 
121,  n. 

Hughes,  Margaret,   actress,   140,  n. 

Hume,  Martin,  164,  n.  i,  168,  n., 
238,  n.  I 

Hurtado  de  la  Camara,  Lorenzo, 
no,  117,  223,  246,  286 

Hurtado  y  Cisneros,  D.  Juan,  32,  n.  3 

Imperial  {La)  de  Oton,  93,  n.  3 

Infante    {El)    de  Aragon,  234 

Inocente  {La)  Sangre,  83 

"Introito,"  the,  281 

Ir  y  quedarse,  225 

Isabel    of    Bourbon,    first    wife    of 

Philip  IV.,  237,  238,  n. ;  her  death, 

246 
Isabel,  Princess  of  Portugal,  23 
Italian    actresses    in    Madrid,    142, 

H? 
Italian  comedies  in  Spain,  21,  22; 

comedy    of    Ariosto     represented 

at  Valladolid,  ibid. 
Italian   players  in   Spain,   30,   n.  2, 

44-45  ;  in  the  Corral  del  Principe, 

143.     See    also   under    Confidenti, 

Cortesi,     Ganassa,     Gelosi,     and 

Muzio 
"Italianos  (Los)  nuevos,"  44 


394 


INDEX 


Jdcaras,  126,  n.  2,  291-293,  298,  n. 
Jesus  Maria,  Fray  Jose  de,  262 
Jimenez,  Jusepe,   107 
Jimenez  de  Valenzuela,  Pedro,  195, 

214 
Job,  auto,  200 
John  of  Austria,  Don,  164 
Jones,  Inigo,  99 
"Jornada,  286  and  n. 
"Journey  into  Spain,"  324 
Jovellanos,  Melchor  de,  xi 
Judit   (La)   Espanola,  236,  n. 
"Juegos  de  Escarnios,"  252 
Juicio   (El)  final,  320 
Juvenal  on  Spanish  dancers,  66,  n.  2 

Labrador  (El)  venturoso,  234,  235 
Lamarca,  Luis,  x-xiii,   117,  n.,  193, 

287 
Lanini,    Pedro    Francisco,   70,   n.    3, 

126,  n.,  290,  n.  I 
Lara,  Salvador,  65 
Laura  perseguida,  278,  n. 
"Laurel  de  Apolo,"  241,  n. 
Lazarillo,  198 
I,eal    (El)    Criado,  277 
Lee,  Sydney,  38,  139 
Lego   (El)   del  Carmen,  196 
Lemos,  Conde  de,  71,  n.  4,  114 
Leon,  musician,  63 
Leon,  Cristobal  de,   157,  201,  223 
Leon,  Melchor  de,   107,  214,  215 
Leon    Marchante,    D.    Manuel    de, 

295  and  n.  3,  321 
Leon  Pinelo,  A.,  69,  n.  2,  226,  n.  1, 

243,  n. 
Leoni,  Leon,  of  Arezzo,  22 
Lerma,  Duke  of,  loi,  n.  3,  102,  212, 

n.  1 
'     Liar's  Walk,  271,  n.  2 

Li  her  tad  (La)   de  Espana  por  Ber- 
nardo del  Car  pin,  49 
Libcrtad  (La)   de  Roma  por  Mucio 

Scevola,  49 
"Licenciado  (El)  vidriera,"  160 
Licensing  of  comedias,  277 
Limos,  Juan,  141 
Linares,  Pedro  de,  223 
Lisbon   visited   by   players   from 

Madrid,    194 
Literary  pirates,  175-176 
Llegar  en  Ocasion,  105,  n.  2 
Llorente,    Pedro,    52,    53,    184,    216, 

221,  258 
Lo  que  puede  la  Traicion,  235 
Lo  que  son  Mugeres,  123,  n. 
Loas,    279-286;    the    "Loa    de    la 

Comedia"   of  Rojas,   78-81;   va- 


rious kinds  of  loas,  279;   Cara- 
muel    on,   279,   n. ;    Luys   Alfonso 
de    Carvallo   on,   280,   n.;   Lopez 
Pinciano    on,    280,    n. ;    the    loas 
of    Lope    de    Vega,    281,    n. ;    the 
loas   of   Agustin   de   Rojas,   281- 
284;    the    loas    of    Quinones    de 
Benavente,   284-286;   the   loa  de 
Escarraman,  298,  n. 
Loaysa,  Garcia  de,  207,  n. 
Loaysa,  Inigo  de,  134,  and  n.  2 
London   theaters,    their   foundation, 

27,  n.  I ;  contributed  to  the  poor 
of  the  hospitals,  27,  n.  i ;  repre- 
sentations in  inn-yards  till   1576, 

28,  n.  I,  30;  the  Theatre,  the 
Curtain,  the  Rose,  34,  n.  5 ;  the 
Globe,  34,  n.  5,  36;  Blackfriars, 
ibid.;  Malone  on,  43,  n.  i;  music 
in,  62,  n.  2,  64;  gallants  on  the 
stage,  64  and  n.  4,  65 ;  Wallace 
on,  ibid.;  at  Blackfriars,  the 
Cockpit,  Salisbury  Court,  ibid.; 
the  "jig,"  70,  n-  I ;  traverses,  84; 
the  price  of  admission,  114,  n.  i; 
women  visit,  119,  n.  i;  plays  on 
Sunday  forbidden,  132,  n. ; 
French  women  on  the  stage,  139 
and  n. ;  women  appear  on  stage, 
139-140;  only  two  theaters  in 
London,  144,  n.  2 ;  actors  take 
several  parts,  146;  literary  pi- 
rates, 176,  n. ;  sums  received  by 
dramatists,  178-180;  salaries  of 
actors,  188  and  n.  3;  London 
visited  by  a  Spanish  company, 
139,  n.  I,  340 

Lopez,  Adrian,  237 

Lopez,  Francisca,  60 

Lopez,  Francisco,  223 

Lopez,  Maria,  185 

Lopez,  Simon,  226,  n.  i,  265,  n.  2 

Lopez,  Vicenta,  190 

Lopez  de  Ayala,  Pero,  50  and  n. 

Lopez  de  Enciso,  Bartolome(  ?),  240 

Lopez  de  Sustaete,  Luis,  128,  157, 
202,  223,  246 

Lopez  de  Sustaya,  Jeronimo,  190, 
214 

Lopez  de  Yanguas,  Hernan,  7,  n.  i 

Lopez  Pinciano,  Alonso,  on  the 
Zarabanda,  71,  n.  i ;  on  staging 
plays,  81,  n.  4;  on  the  loa,  280, 
n. ;  on  Spanish  comedias,  333-334 

Lotheissen,  F.,  139,  n.  i 

Lotti,  Cosme,  241  and  n.,  242 

Louis  XIV.,  170,  n. 

Ludena,  Fernando  de,  180 


INDEX 


395 


Lulli,  Jean  Baptiste,  241,  n.  i 
Luna,  D.  Alvaro  de,  287  and  n.  3 
Luna   (La)   Africana,  180 
Luxan,  Micaela  de,  268 
Luxan  de  Sayavedra,  Mateo,  154,  n. 

Mabbe,  James,  121,  n.  2,  129,  n.  2 
Mac-Carthy,  D.  F.,  242,  n.  i 
MaccoIJ,  N.,  72,  n.,   160,  n.   i,   173, 

n.  I 
Machinery  on  the  stage ;  see  under 

Staging 
Madrid   as   a   theatrical   center,   x; 

the    corrales   of   Madrid,   26-36. 

See  also  under  Corrales 
Madrid,  Francisco  de,  13 
Maestro    {El)    de  Danzar    (Lope), 

66,  n.  4;  de  Calderon,  74,  n.  2 
Magdalena  {La),  319 
Malaguilla,  Juan  de,  223 
Malara,  Juan  de,  24 
Malcasados  (Los)  de  Valencia,  119, 

n.  I 
Malherbe,  Frangois,  340,  n. 
Malone,  Edward,  43,  n.  i,  62,  n.  2, 

64,  III,  n.  2,  114,  n.  I,  119,  n.  i, 

134,  n.  3,  139,  n.  I,  140,  n.,  176,  n., 

178,  179-180,  188,  n.  3 
Maluenda,  Jacinto  de,  xii,  250,  n.  2 
Manganilla  (La)  de  Melilla,  94,  n. 
"Mansions"  •  on   the    French    stage, 

100 
Mantzius,  Karl,  45,  n.  i,   137,  138, 

139,  n,  I,  140 
Manuel  de  Castilla,  Pedro,  187,  190, 

n.  2,  223 
Manzanos,  theatrical  manager, 1 54,  n. 
Maqueda,  Duke  of,  239 
Maravillas  (Las)  de  Babi Ionia,  177 
Margarita     of     Austria,     wife     of 

Philip   IIL,   211;    plays    acted    in 

presence  of,   230-231;   death   of, 

220,  250 
Maria  Manuela,  193 
Maria   Teresa,   daughter  of  Philip 

IV.,  170,  n. 
Mariana,  wife   of  Lope   de  Rueda, 

II,  12,  141 
Mariana,    Juan    de,    on    the    Zara- 

banda,  71,  n.  4,  144;  opposes  the 

theater,  262-263,  264,  n. ;  "Contra 

los    Juegos    piiblicos,"    293-294, 

297,  n.  1 
Mariana  of  Austria,  156,  250,  251 
Marido  (El)  de  su  Hermana,  235 
Marigraviela    (Maria   Gabriela), 

63,  147 
Mariscal  (El)  de  Biron,  186 


Marmol  (El)  de  Felisardo,  84,  n.  i 
Marques  de  la  Fuensanta  del  Valle, 

233 
Marquesa    (La)    Saluda,    llamada 

G  rise  I  da,  18,  n.  i 
Marston's  Sophonisba,  64;  Antonio 

and  Mellida,  146 
Marti  y  Monso,  "Estudios,"  296,  n.  i 
Martial  on  Spanish  dancers,  66,  n.  2 
Martinazos,  theatrical  manager,  168 
Martinelli,  Angela,  45  and  n.  3,  46, 

143 
Martinelli,   Drusiano,  44  and   n.    i, 

Martinelli,  Tristano,  45,  n.  3 
Martinez,  Francisco,  musician,  63 
Martinez,  Juan,  64,  n.  1,  177;  autor 

de  comedias,  zzj, 
Martinez  de  Asensio,  Pedro,  125 
Mariir  (El)  de  Madrid  (Mescua), 

'23s. 
Martires  (Los)  del  Japon,  134,  n.  i, 

19s 
Mas  (La)  constante  Mtiger,  123,  n. 
Mas    (El)    impropio   Verdugo,   123, 

234 
Mas    (La)    injusta    Venganza,   123, 

234 
Mas  merece  quien  mas  ama,  235 
Masco,  Domingo,  x 
Massinger,  Philip,  38 
Matadora  (La),  dance,  70,  n.  3 
Mayor  (El)  Encanto  Amor,  242 
Medina  de  las  Torres,  Duke  of, 

243,  n. 
Medinaceli,  Duke  of,  11 
Mejor  (El)  Hue  sped  de  Espana,  320 
Mejor   (El)   Maestro  el  Tiempo, 

105,  n.  2 
Mejor  (El)  Representante,  San 

Gines,  181 
Memorial   of  Philip   IL  concerning 

the  theaters,  208-210 
"Memorilla,"  175 
Mendez  de  Carrion.  D.  Luis,  239 
Mendoza,  Fr.  Alonso  de,  144 
Mendoza,  D.  Antonio  de,  235,  240 
Mendoza,  Francisco  de,  147 
Menendez  y  Pelayo,  M.,  13,  n.  3,  14 

and    n.    1,    15,    19,    n.    3,    171,    n., 

289,  n.,  297,  n. 
Mentidero  de  los  Representantes, 

271,  n.  2 
Mer  coder  (El)  Am  ante,  83,  n.  i 
Merimee,  E.,  293,  n.  2 
Mescua,  Mira  de,  61,  180,  186,  226, 

n.  I,  323,  341 
Meson  (El)  del  Alma,  310,  n. 


396 


INDEX 


Mesonero  Romanos,  R.  dc,  239,  n.  i, 

272,  n. 
"Migaxas    del    Ingenio,"    70,    n.    3, 

126,  n.,  272,  n.,  290,  n.  i 
Milagro  (El)  for  los  Celos,  186 
Mtlagrosa  {La)  Eleccion  de  Pio  V., 

236 
Milan,  Da  Leonor  de,  49,  n.  3 
Minsheu's  "Spanish  Dictionary,"  63, 

n.  I,  108,  n.,  189,  n.  i 
Misterios  {Los)  de  la  Misa,  320 
"Modern  Language  Notes,"  290,  n.  i 
"Modern   Language   Review,"   237, 

n.  I 
Moeller,  Frau,  actress,  141 
"Mogiganga  (La)  del  Gusto,"  295, 

n.  3 
Mogigangas,  295-296 
Moland,    "Moliere    et    la    Comedie 

italienne,"  46,  n.  3 
Moliere,  musicians  in  his  troupe,  62, 

n.  2 ;  Les  Fdcheux,  65,  n.   i ;  La 

Coquette  ou  le  Favori,  65,  n.   i ; 

performed   at  tennis  courts,   loi ; 

his  company   in    1658,    145,   n.   3, 

170  and  n.   1 ;   refused  burial  by 

the  church,  256 
Molina,  Luis  de,  141 
Molina,  Miguel  de,  60 
Molina,  Tirso  de,   ix,   81,  n.   1,  84, 

n.  2,  85,  n.   I,  90,  226,  n.  i,  266, 

n.  2,  286,  n.  3,  341 
Monreal,   Julio,    66,    n.   4,    74,   n.   2, 

240,  n.  4,  3 1 1,  n.  3 
Monserrate,  Diego  de,  150 
Montalvan,  Juan  Perez  de,  122,  174, 

n.  2,  176,  n.,  186,  226,  n.   i,  265, 

n.  2,  341 
Montanesa  {La),  307 
^  Montemayor,  Sebastian  de,  106,  142, 

n.  I 
Montesinos,  Maria  de,  147 
Montiel,  Pedro  de,  12 
Monzon,  Cortes  of,  xii 
Monzon,  Luis  de,  149,  204 
Morales,  author  of  El  Conde  loco, 

79,  n.  I 
Morales,  Maria  de,  184 
Morales,  Mariana  de,  308 
Morales,  Segundo  de,  223 
Morales  Medrano,  Juan  de,  108,  n., 

account  of,  162-163,  192,  196,  200, 

214,  215,  221,  231,  317,  323 
Morel-Fatio,  A.,  80,  274 
Moreto,  Agustin,  122,  123,  226,  n.  i, 

341 
.Morf,  H.,  255,  n. 
Morica   {La)  garrida,  149,  196 


Morisco,  his  account  of  a  play,  323 

Mosqueteros,  30,  113;  fee  they  paid, 
117,  118,  119,  120;  "are  the  judges 
of  plays,  121;  generally  paid, 
126,  n.,  278 

Motteville,  Madame  de,  329 

Much  Ado  about  Nothing,  74,  n.  2 

Mudarra,  Francisco,  223 

Muerte  {La)  de  Ayax  Telamon 
sobre  las  Armas  de  Aquiles,  49 

Muerte  {La)  del  Rey  don  Sancho  y 
Reto  de  Zamora  par  D.  Diego 
Ordonez,  49 

Muertos  {Los)  vivos,  173  • 

Muestra  {La)  de  los  Carros,  290,  n. 

Munday,  Anthony,  178,  n.  3 

Muniz,  Juan  Bautista,  107 

Munoz,  Ana,  81 

Mufioz,  Francisco,  116,  n.  5 

Music  in  the  corrales,  62-64,  67, 
132;  music  on  the  English  stage, 
64 ;  musicians  in  the  French  thea- 
ters, 62,  n.  2,  278-279 

Muzio,  Italian  player  in  Spain,  21, 
29,  n.  I 

Nabarro,  Pedro,  actor  and  play- 
wright, 18,  n.  I,  62  and  n. 
Naples,  comedias  in,  33 
Nasarre,  Bias,  16,  n.  i 
Naufragio  {El)  de  Jonas,  308 
Navalcarmelo    {Naval  y  Abigqil), 

10  and  n.  3 
Navarro  Oliver,  Juan,  139,  n.  1,  341 
Nave  {El)  del  Mercader,  311,  n.  3 
Naxera,  Andres  de,  195 
Nichols,    "Progress    of    James    L," 

331,  n. 
Nicolas,  Catalina  de,  157 
Nicomede,  of  Corneille,  145,  n.  3 
Nihez  {La)  de  Crista,  177,  n.,  307,  n. 
Nino  {El)  del  Senado,  236 
No  A  mar  la  mayor  Fineza,  199 
No  hay  Dicha  ni  Desdicha  hasta  la 

Muerte,  i86 
Noche  {La)  de  San  Juan,  240 
"Norte  de  la  Poesia  Espanola,"  Va- 
lencia, 1616,  73,  n.,  83 
Nunca  mucho  costo  poco,  199 
Nunez,  Esteban,  248 
Nunez,  Gabriel,  132,  156,  195,  215 
"Naque,"  the,  151 

Obediencia  {La)  laureda,  93,  n.  3 

"Obispillo,  El,"  127 

Obras  son  Amores,  53 

Ocasion  {La)  perdida,  93,  95,  n.  z 

Ofender  con  las  Finezas,  245 


INDEX 


397 


Olivares,  Count-Duke  of,  239,  240, 

243,  n. 
Olivares,  Countess  of,  239,  241 
Olivares,  Maria  de,  186 
Olivera,  Casa  de  la  (1584-1618),  xii 
Olivera,    Teatro    de    la,    xii,    xiii ; 

price    of    admission    to,    117,    n. ; 

representations  in,  278,  n.  2 
Olmedo,  Alonso  de,  account  of,  i6i- 

162,  223,  234,  292,  294 
Olmedo,  Jeronima  de,  139,  n.  1,  340 
Opposition  to  the  theater,  207  S. 
Ordish,  T.  F.,  34,  n.  5 
Organos    {Los),   entr ernes,   290,    n., 

295,  n.  2 
Ormsby,  John,  313 
Ornero,  Jeronima  de,  162 
Ortegon,  Pedro  de,  126,  n.  2 
Ortiz,  Ana,  258 

Ortiz,  Francisco,  actor,  183,  223 
Ortiz,  Francisco,  author,  258 
Ortiz,  Santiago,  225,  n.  2 
Ortiz  de  Guzman,  D.  Juan,  48,  n.  3 
Ortiz  de  Villazan,  Cristobal,  57,  n.  1, 

63,  194,  223,  233,  n.  2,  258 
Ortiz  de  Zuniga,  Anales  de  Sevilla, 

23 
Osorio,    Diego,    187,    197,   202,   244, 

n.  2,  318 
Osorio,  Eugenia,  107 
Osorio,  Francisco,  31,  193 
Osorio,  Magdalena,  no 
Osorio,  Rodrigo,  no,  193 
Ostos,  Juan  de,  150 
Oviedo,  Cosme  de,  133,  151 

Pacheco,  D.  Juan,  272 

Paez  de  Sotomayor,  Pedro,  142,  143, 
258 

Paniagua.  Alonso  de,  214 

Pantoja,    *Sobre  Comedias,"  226,  n. 

Parecido  (El)  en  la  Corte,  123,  n. 

Paris  and  Vienna,  76 

"Particulares."  See  Pri^'ate  repre- 
sentations 

Pastrana,  Juan  de,  68,  n.  2 

Paz,  Alonso  de  la,  197 

Paz,  Gregorio  de,  211  and  n.  i 

Paz  (La)  universal,  auto  (El  Lirio 
y  la  Azucena),  202 

Paz  y  Melia,  A.,  134,  n.  i,  150,  n.  2, 
161,  n.,  171,  n.,  180,  n.  3,  234-236, 
250,  n.  2 

Pedraza,  Juan  de,  6,  7,  «.  i 

Pedraza,  "Historia  ecclesiastica  de 
Granada,"  191,  n. 

Pedro  de  Urdemalas,  95,  n.  i 

Pellicer,   Casiano,    15,  21,   n.  2,  26, 


27,  28,  29,  30,  32,  n.  3,  34,  36,  n.  I, 
40,  41,  42,  n.  I,  43,  54,  n.  3, 
70,  72,  n.,  74,  n3,  13s,  137,  n.  i, 
143,  202,  203,  n.  I,  204,  205,  212, 
213,  224,  229,  240,  242,  n.  I, 
243,  n.,  246,  n.  2  and  3,  247,  n.  2, 
248,  250,  n.  I,  251,  n.  I,  264,  n., 
291,  330,  n. 
Pellicer,  Juan  Antonio,  68,  n.  3,  70, 

n.  3,  225  and  n.  2 
Penalosa,  Juan  de,  199,  223 
Peralta,  Catalina  de,  185 
Perdida  (La)  de  Espaha,  234 
Perdida  (La)  del  Rey  D.  Sebastian, 

235 

Peregrino   (El),  auto,  311 

"Peregrino  (El)  en  su  Patria,"  87, 
174-175,  2X1,  n.  3 

Perez,  Dr.  Antonio,  209,  n. 

Perez,  Cosme,  187,  268 

Perez,  Fernando,  147 

Perez  de  Guzman,  D.  Alvar,  50 

Perez  Pastor,  Cristobal,  10,  n.  4,  28, 
n.  2,  30,  n.  2,  31,  32,  n.  i,  33,  n.  5, 
34,  n.  I  and  2,  35,  n.  i  and  2,  36, 
n.  2,  37,  n.  2,  44,  n.  2,  46,  54,  n.  i, 
63,  n.  I,  64,  n.  I,  67,  68,  n.  2,  74, 
75,  loi,  n.  3,  107,  108,  109,  no, 
113,  n6,  n.,  129,  n.  2,  132, 
133,  n.  I,  134,  n.  3,  135,  141,  142, 
145,  n.  2,  147-1491  150,  n.  T,  155, 
156,  162,  163,  n.  3,  165,  n.,  171, 
177,  n.,  178,  182-188,  190,  192, 
193-196,  197,  198,  199,  200,  201- 
205,  208,  209,  n.,  211,  n.,  215,  224, 
229,  n.  2,  230,  n.,  231,  237,  n.,  241, 
n.  I,  243,  n.,  244,  n.,  245,  n.,  247, 
248,  258,  259,  267,  n.,  290,  n.  2, 
295,  298,  n.  2  and  3,  302-305,  306, 
307-308,  n.,  309,  310,  3n,  313, 
317.  318,  319,  321 

Performance,  amount  paid  for,  194- 
197;  receipts  of,  202-205.  See 
also  under  Representations 

Pcribanez  y  el  Comendador  de 
Ocana,  91,  n.  i 

Pernia,  Pedro  de,  172  and  n. 

Perra  (La)  Mora,  dance,  70,  n.  3, 
72,  n.  2,  74 

Pesame  (El),  dance,  72,  n.  2 

Petition  of  1646-47  to  reopen  the 
corrales,  249 

Philip  the  Second,  33,  230 

Philip  the  Third,  fond  of  dancing, 
66;  erects  a  theater  in  the  Casas 
del  Tesoro,  in,  230;  permits 
comedias  to  be  represented,  2n; 
betrothed,  ibid.;  autos  represented 


398 


INDEX 


before,  231;  in  the  Escurial,  309; 
death  of,  54,  229 

Phjlip  the  Fourth,  fondness  for 
dancing,  68,  n.  2;  builds  a  thea- 
ter, III,  n.  I,  156,  164;  interferes 
with  representations  at  the  thea- 
ters, 197-198,  243;  accession  to 
the  throne,  231;  patron  of  art 
and  the  drama,  232;  appears  on 
the  stage,  232-233;  neglects  the 
greatest  poets,  232,  n.,  237;  large 
sums  expended  for  entertain- 
ments, 243,  n. ;  visits  the  co- 
rrales  incognito,  244,  269,  273 ; 
death  of,  250 

Phillyda  and  Choryn,  78 

"Philosophia  Antigua"  of  Lopez 
Pinciano,  71,  n.  1;  on  staging 
plays,  81,  n.  4;  on  the  loa,  280, 
n. ;   on   audiences,   333-334 

Pineda,  Fr.  Juan  de,  143,  n.  3, 
2 

Pinedo,  Baltasar,  102,  107,  109,  n., 
131,  202,  214,  215,  304 

Placida  y  J'icioriano,  256,  n.  2 

Playbills.     See  Posters 

Pobreza  no  es  Fileza,  96,  n. 

Pohrezas  {Las)  de  Reynaldos,  84, 
n.  r,  236 

Poder  (El)   en  cl  Discreto,  165,  n. 

Poderosa  es  la   Ocasion,  234 

Pope,   A.,   couplet   on   Shakespeare, 

39  , 

Porres,  Caspar  de,  80,  108  and  n., 
131,  170-171,  182,  183,  192,  193, 
196,  200,  214,  215,  231,  290,  n.  2, 
299,  300,  301  and  n.,  309,  317 

Posters,    theatrical,     112,     133-134; 
in  England,  134,  n.  3 
^     Poyo,   Salucio  or   Salustio   del,    174, 
196,  278,  n.  2,  308 

Prado,  Antonio  de,  60,  162,  197, 
223,  243,  311,  318 

Prado,  Sebastian  de,  170,  n.,  249, 
n.  2,  340 

Pragmatica  de  Carlos  V.,  19  and  n., 
20,  25 

Premio   (El)   de  la  Hermosura,  233 

Primer   (El)   Faxardo,  81 

Principe   (El)   ignorante,  235 

Principe    (El)    perfecto,   176 

Private  representations  =  particula- 
rcs,  loi ;  before  the  King,  229, 
230-246;   in   1622,  233-237 

Prnpaladia,  editions  of,  15 

Pros  per  a  Fortuna  (La)  de  Rui  Lo- 
pez de  Avalos,  196 

Prueba  (La)  de  los  Amigos,  90,  n.  2 


Pruebas  (Las)  de  la  Lealtad,  236 
Psiquis  y  Cupido,  243,  n. 
Pucelle  (La)  d'Orleans,   loi 
Puente(La)de  Mantible,  i86,  297,  n. 
Puente  (La)  del  Mundo,  297,  d. 
Purpura  (La)  de  la  Rosa,  241,  n. 

"Quarterly  Review,  The,"  91,  n.  2 

Quevedo,  D.  Francisco  de,  172,  n., 
278,  n.  I,  240,  297,  n.  I 

Quien  hallard  Muger  fuerte,  311 

Qiiien  mas  miente  medra  mas,  240 

Quien  no  se  aventura,  235 

Quinault,  Philippe,  241,  n. 

Quinta  (La)  de  Florencia,  83,  n., 
91,  n.  I,  95,  n.  3 

Quinones,  Luis  de,  musician,  63,  184 

Quinones,  Maria  de,  187 

Quinones  de  Benavente,  Luis,  118, 
n.  I  and  2,  119,  n.  2,  120,  127,  n., 
172,  n.  I,  190,  279,  284-286,  288, 
289,  290,  291,  292,  298,  n.  4 

Quiros,  Bartolome  Lopez  de,  192, 
193 

Rafaela  Angela,  wife  of  Lope  de 
Rueda,  11,  12 

Ramirez,  Cristobal,  216 

Ramirez,  Miguel,  151,  165,183,214, 
299 

Ramos,  Antonio,  216 

Rasi,  "I  Comici  Italian!,"  45,  n.  3, 
140,  n.  3,  269,  n.  2 

Real,  the  value  of,  108,  n. 

Receipts  of  a  theatrical  perform- 
ance, 202-205 

Registre  de  La  Grange,  62,  n.  2,  65, 
n.  I,  146,  n.,  170,  n.  i 

Reina    (La)   D'^  Juana  de  Napoles, 

94,  n- 

Reinoso,  Luisa  de,  147 

Remirez  de  Arellano,  Luis,  175-176 

Rennert,  H.  A.,  "Life  of  Lope  de 
Vega,"  38,  n.  i,  et  passim;  "The 
Staging  of  Lope's  Comedias,"  40, 
n.  2,  84,  n.  2,  et  passim;  "Notes 
on  the  Chronology'  of  the  Spanish 
Drama,"  237,  n. 

Representations  in  the  corrales,w)\tn 
permitted,! 30-133  ;  corralesc\ostA 
from  Ash  Wednesday  till  Easter, 
131;  no  performances  on  Sat- 
urday, 131  (see  Appendix  A)  ; 
always  given  on  Sunday,  132; 
public  representations,  132;  op- 
position of  the  clergy  to,  143- 
145;  sums  paid  for  a  repre- 
sentation,  194-197;   receipts  of  a 


INDEX 


399 


representation,  202-205 1  gratu- 
itous representations,  277 ;  when 
representations  took  place,  278; 
account  of  a  representation,  278 
ff. ;  descriptions  of  eye-witnesses, 
322  ff.     See  also  under  Comedias 

Restori,  Antonio,  70,  368 

"Revista  de  Archivos,"  108,  n.,  249, 
n.  I 

"Revue  Hispanique,"  18,  n.  i,  40, 
n.  2,  84,  n.  2,  328,  n.  2 

Rey  (El)  Angel  {El  Key  Angel  de 
Sicilia),  234 

Rey  (El)  Bamba,  83,  n.,  91,  n. 

Reyes,  Baltasara  de  los,  183,  279,  n. 

Reyes,  Caspar  de  los,  195,  214 

Reyes,  Mariana  de  los,  187 

Reynolds,  G.  F.,  76,  n. 

Ribadeneira,  Pedro  de,  260-261 

Richter,  Frau,  actress,  141 

Rigal,  E.,  100,  115,  n.,  119,  n.  i  and  3, 
121  and  n.,  139,  277,  n.  i,  340,  n. 

Rios,  Nicolas  de  los,  loi,  n.  3,  145, 
151,  154,  21s,  230,  259,  290,  n.  2, 
299 

Riquelme,  Alonso,  63 ;  imprisoned 
for  debt,  no,  155,  156,  172,  184, 
192,  194,  200,  214,  216,  221,  231, 
323 

Riquelme,  Jacinto,  109 

Riquelme,  Maria  de,  163  and  n.  3, 
269  and  n.  2 

Rivas,  Juan  de,  32,  33 

Robles,  Bartolome  de,  18^,  301,  n. 

Robles,  Luisa  de,  161-162 

Roca  Paula,  actress,  141 

Rodamonte  Aragones,  234 

Rodriguez,   Alonso,    of    Seville,    32, 

3  5.  49 
Rodriguez,  Alonso,     El  Toledano, 

10,  n.  4,  32 
Rodriguez,  Isabel,  190 
Rodriguez,  Fr.  Manuel,  257 
Rodriguez,  Mariana,  150 
Rodriguez,  Pedro,  195,  214 
Rodriguez  Marin,  Francisco,  71, 

n.   I 
Rodriguez  Tirado,  Jose,  68,  n.  2 
Rodriguez  Villa,  A.,  273,  n.  i  and  2 
Rojas,  Diego  de,  195,  214 
Rojas,  Francisco  de,   122,   123,  226, 

n.  I,  241,  n.,  276,  n.  2,  341 
Rojas,  Tomas  de,  186 
Rojas  Villandrando,  Agustin  de,  3 ; 
his  "Loa  en  Alabanza  de  la 
Comedia,"  3,  13,  15,  32,  n.  2,  62, 
78-81,  132,  n.  2,  133,  n.  6,  141, 
n.  4,   144,  282;  his  life,  150;  the 


"Viage  entretenido,"  description 
of  the  various  companies  of  play- 
ers, 150-154;  his  El  natural  des- 
dichado,  150,  n.  2,  159-160,  165; 
anecdotes  related  by,  165-169, 
182,  183,  189;  his  Loas,  279,  281- 
284 

"Romancero  General"  (1604),  167, 
294,  n.  I 

Romera  (La)  de  Santiago,  236 

Romero,  Bartolome,  107,  155,  186, 
194,  201,  223,  241,  n.,  291,  292, 
301,  n. 

Romero,  Mariana,  272,  n. 

Roncagli,  Silvia    ("la  Frances- 
quina"),  46,  143  and  n.  2 

Ropilla,  168 

Rosa,  Pedro  de  la,  107,  109,  156, 
i57>  170.  n-.  187,  194,  196,  201, 
223,  242,  244,  n.  2,  296,  n.  I,  340 

Rosario  (El),  of  Pedro  Diaz,  79,  80 

Rosell,  Cayetano.  See  Quihones  de 
Benavente 

Rosenberg,  M.,  88,  n. 

Rosete,  D.  Pedro,  276,  n.  2 

Rouanet,  L.,  7,  n.  2,  10,  n.  3,  65,  n.  i, 
287,  n.  2,  290,  n.,  294,  n.  4,  295, 
n.  3,  340,  n.  4 

Rueda,  Antonio  de,  64,  65,  131,  157, 
187,  188,  190,  n.  2,  194,  201,  223, 
285,  294 

Rueda,  Lope  de,  3,  9-13;  earliest 
autor  de  comedias,  9;  represents 
in  Benavente,  10;  at  Seville,  10; 
marries  Mariana,  a  Valencian 
woman,  11;  her  suit  against  the 
Duke  of  Medinaceli,  11;  Rafaela 
Anxela,  wife  of  Rueda,  and  their 
daughter  Juana  Luisa,  11;  his 
company,  12 ;  died  at  Cordoba, 
13;  his  historical  importance,  14; 
Cervantes's  account  of  him,  16- 
18,  20,  24,  25,  29,  62,  141,  170; 
"introitos,"  281,  287,  288,  n.  i 

Rueda  (La)  de  la  Fortuna,  323 

Ruffianism  in  the  theaters,   125-130 

Rufian  (El)  dichoso,  94 

Rufo,  Juan,  18,  n.  2,  20 

Ruiz,  Miguel,  183 

Rye,  W.  B.,  331,  n. 

Saavedra,  Rodrigo  de,  299 

Saco    (El)    de  Roma  y  Muerte  de 

Borbon,  49 
Sacro  (El)  Parnaso,  311 
Sainetes,  293-295 
Saladino   (El),  278,  n.  2 
Salazar  de  Mendoza,  D.  Pedro,  50 


400 


INDEX 


Salcedo,  Francisco,  31,  32,  33,  n.  5, 

35 
Salcedo,  Lucia  de,  184 
Salcedo,  Mateo  de,  47,  n.  2 
Saldana,  Pedro  de,  30,  n.  2,  32,  35, 

43,  49.  131 
Salinas,  Pedro  Garcia  de,  185 
Salomona,  Angela,   Italian  dctress, 

46,  143 
San  Antonio,  of  Alonso  Diaz,  79,  80 
San  Bruno,  235 
San  Carlos,  171,  n. 
San  Cristobal,  128 
San  Hermenegildo,  23,  24 
San   Isidro,   Labrador   de   Madrid, 

95i  n.  4 

San  Onofre,  6  el  Rey  de  los  De- 
siertos,  54 

San  Reymundo,  190 

Sancha,  D.  Justo  de,  313,  n. 

Sanchez,  Jeronimo,  223 

Sanchez,  Miguel,  "El  Divino,"  79, 
n.  I,  81 

Sanchez-Arjona,  J.,  4-9,  11,  23,  24, 
29,  n.  I,  32,  n.  2,  47,  48-61,  63, 
65,  66,  67,  68,  71,  80,  109,  115- 
116,  125,  126,  127,  128,  129,  130, 
133,  134,  n.  2,  150,  n.  I,  161,  164, 
165,  n.,  170,  n.,  192,  203-205,  226, 
n.,  229,  n.  3,  246,  n.  5,  248  and 
n.  2,  293,  n.  2,  295,  n.  2,  304,  n.  2, 
305,  n.   3,   306,   308,   n.,   309,   310, 

313,  315.  321 
Sanchez  Baquero,  Pedro,  187 
Sanchez  de  Vargas,  Hernan,  57,  n., 
64,  n.   r,   108,    156,   157,   172,    177, 
185,   186,  187,   193,   195.   196,   199. 
201,  216,  221,  229,  304 
Sancho  Rayon,  D.  Jose,  233 
Sandoval,  "Historia  de  Carlos  V.," 

23,  n.  I 
Santa  Catalina,  auto,  200 
Santa  Maria  Egipdaca,  197,  265, 

n.  2,  320 
Santa  Maria  Magdalena,  250 
Santoyo,  Antonio  de,  129,  n.  2 
Sarmiento,  Pablo,  165,  n. 
Scenery.     See  Staging 
Schack,  Adolf  Friedrich  von,  4,  n.  i, 
5,  n.  1, 16,  n.  I,  19,  23  and  n.,  26,  28, 
33,  41-43,78,  81,  82,  85,  86,  88,  90, 
104,  145,  n.  2,  191,  n.,  207,  n.,  215, 
n.  2,  221,  n.,  226,  n.  i,  228,  n.,  230, 
233,  241,  n.,  243,  n.,  250,  n.  3  and 
4,  254,  n.  I,  268,  n.,  269,  n.,  271, 
n.  2,  274,  276,  279,  n.  I,  280,  n.  i, 
286,  n.  3,  288,  n.  2,  «94,  n.  4,  298, 
n.  5,  311,  n!  3 


Scherillo,  M.,  29,  n.  i,  44,  n.  4 

Schmidt,  F.  W.  V.,  92,  n.  3 

Schwering,  J.,  339,  n. 

Seats  in  the  corrales,  134-136 

"Seguidilla,"  279 

Selva  (La)  de  Amor,  236 

Sel'va  (La)  sin  Amor,  241  and  n. 

Semiramis  {La)   of  Virues,  79,  n.  i 

Sepvilveda,  Ricardo  de,  27,  n.  2,  42, 
n.  I,  223,  n.,  246,  n.  i,  270,  n.  i, 
272,  n. 

Serna  y  Haro,  Juan  de  la,  204 

Serrana  {La)  de  la  Vera,  81 

Servir  con  mala  Estrella,  106,  n. 

Sessa,  Duke  of,  36,  172,  220 

Shakespeare,  34,  n.  5;  Henry  V., 
Romeo  and  Juliet,  34,  n.  5,  37; 
compared  with  Lope  de  Vega, 
36-39;  Hamlet,  Venus  and 
Adonis,  Lucrece,  37;  The  Tem- 
pest, 38;  Much  Ado  About  Noth- 
ing, 74,  n.  2;  anachronisms  in  his 
plays,  105,  n. ;  proprietor  of 
wardrobe  at  Blackfriars,  110,170, 
178 

Siete  (Loi)  Infantes  de  Lara,  49 

Sigura,  Juan  de,  182 

Simon,  Manuel,  162 

Sin  Honra  no  ay  Amistad,  124,  n. 

Sin  Secreto  no  ay  Amor,  174,  n.  2 

Sol  (El)  parado,  81 

Solano,  Agustin,  141,  151,  166-169, 
182,   189 

Solano,  Francisco,  223 

Solis,  Antonio  de,  124,  243,  n. 

Sommi,  Leone  de,  140  and  n. 

"Sonajas,"  67,  n.  3 

Sotomayor,  Francisco  de,  190 

Soulie,  E.,  170,  n.,  189,  n. 

Southampton,  Earl  of,  36 

Spanish  money,  value  of,  108,  n. 

Spectators  on  the  stage,  64,  65 ;  in 
La  Monteria,  65;  spectators  enter 
without  paying,  125-129;  view 
plays  from  housetops,  130.  For 
English  stage,  see  under  London 

St.  John's  eve,  242,  243 

Stage,  the,  opposed  by  the  church, 
252-266;  defended  by  churchmen, 
259-260 

Staging  of  comedias,  76-103 ;  no 
outercurtain,  82, 83  ;  curtain  at  rear 
of  stage,  84, 86 ;  windows,  balconies, 
walls,  towers,  etc.,  85;  doors  on 
the  stage,  85  and  n. ;  trees  repre- 
sented on  the  stage,  85  and  n. ; 
doors  at  back  of  stage,  85,  n.  2; 
change     of     scene     indicated     by 


INDEX 


401 


vacant  stage,  86,  87 ;  by  entering 
and  leaving  by  a  different  door, 
88;  simultaneous  scenery,  89; 
change  indicated  by  drawing  a 
curtain  aside,  90;  place  of  action 
mentioned  in  the  dialogue,  91 ; 
vagueness  of  localization,  91 ; 
scene  indicated  by  costume,  91, 
92 ;  balconies,  93 ;  corredor  of 
the  theater,  93 ;  garden  and  trees 
on  the  stage,  95 ;  painted  canvas, 
95 ;  importance  of  chronology, 
96;  changes  in  Lope's  long 
career,  96-98;  machinery  and 
the  stage  carpenter,  ibid.;  basti- 
dores,  97  and  n.  2;  apariencias 
and /ramoyaj,  97-99;  Cervantes's 
remarks,  98;  "appearances,"  98- 
99 ;  construction  of  the  Spanish 
stage,  99 ;  the  stage  setting  of  the 
French  theater,  99-1CX3;  the  stage 
of  the  mysteries,  100;  Corneille 
objects  to  it,  100;  complaints  of 
d'Aubignac,  100;  the  stage  at  the 
Hotel  de  Bourgogne,  loi ;  pov- 
erty of  scenic  effects  on  the  Span- 
ish stage,  101-102 ;  private  repre- 
sentations, 102-103 

Stiefel,  A.  L.,  7,  n.  i,  10,  n.  i,  21, 
n.  2,  22,  n.  I,  29,  n.  i 

Storie  of  Pompey,  A.,  77 

Suarez  de  Figueroa,  Cristobal,  80, 
120,  n.  I,  175-176,  268,  275  and 
n.,  285 

Sufrir  mas  por  querer  mas,  186,  245 

Tamayo  de  Vargas,  T.,  32,  n.  3 

"Tamboril,"  the,  67,  n.  3 

Tapia,  Juan  de,  214 

"Tarasca,"  the,  298 

Tardia,  Maria,  271,  n. 

Tejada,  Juan  de,  216,  220 

Theater,  decline  of,  197;  opposition 
to,  207  ff.  See  under  Comedia 
and  Cor  rales 

Theatrical  life  in  Spain,  anecdotes 
concerning,  154,  n. 

Theatrical  posters,   112,  133-134 

Thomas,  Hubertus,  of  Luttich,  23, 
n.  I 

Ticket  scalpers,  116 

Ticknor,  George,  9,  14,  16,  n.  i,  66, 
68,  n.  2,  71,  n.  4,  104,  117,  118, 
124,  226,  240,  241,  243,  n.,  252, 
n.  I,  226,  n.  I,  269,  287,  n.  3,  288, 
n.  I,  291,  n.  2,  297,  298,  n.  5 

Timoneda,  Juan  de,  14,  n.,  288,  n.  i 

"TonadHla,"  293 


Torneos  (Los)  de  Aragon,  94,  n.  i 
Torre,  Gabriel  de  la,  204,  214,  304, 

317 
Torres,  Francisca  de,  155 
Torres   Naharro,   Bartolome   de,   3, 

13,  14;  his  Propaladia,  15-16,  19, 

n.  3,  21,  22,  275  and  n. ;  introitos, 

281,  286,  n.  3 
Tragedia    (La)    por   los   Celos,  84, 

n.  1 
Tragicomedia   (La)   de  Lysandro  y 

Roselia,  68,  n.  3 
"Tramoyas,"  80,  97,  98 
Trances  de  Amor,  235 
Transformaciones  de  Amor,  244 
Trato  (El)  de  la  A  Idea,  190 
Traveling  of  theatrical  companies, 

154-158 
"Traverses"     of     the     Elizabethan 

theatre,  84 
Tres  (Los)   may  ores  Prodigios,  242 
Turdion,  the,  a  dance,  74,  n.  2 
Turia,  Ricardo  de   (D.  Pedro  Juan 

de    Rejaule    y   Toledo),    30,    31, 

n.    1,    45,    n.    2;    La   Fi   pagada 

(Chacona) ,   73,    83,   n.,    84,   n.    i 

and  2,  94,  n.,  125,  n. ;  on  comedias, 

274,  n. 
Tutor  (El),  ^9 

Urson  y  Valentin,  106,  n. 

Vaca,  Gabriel,  195,  214 
Vaca,  Jusepa,  268,  307 
Vaca  de  Castro,  D.  Pedro,  258 
Valcazar,  Jeronima  de,  185 
Valdes,  Pedro  de,  52,  157,  177,  184, 
194,  201,  216,  221,  229,  234,  236, 

305 

Valdivieso,  Josef  de,  311 

Valencia,  its  importance  as  a  dra- 
matic center,  x;  origin  of  its  thea- 
ters, x-xiii;  school  of  dramatists, 
ibid,  and  191-192;  actors  from 
Madrid  visit,  193-194,  199;  re- 
opening of  theaters  in,  249 

Valenciano,  Juan  Bautista,  54,  165, 
n.,  186,  223,  229 

Valenciano,  Juan  Jeronimo,  54,  115, 
165,  n. 

Valiente  (El)  Lucidoro,  234 

Vallejo,  Diego  de,  53,  63 

Vallejo,  Jeronimo,  202 

Vallejo,  Manuel  Alvarez,  128,  133, 
162,  163,  186,  199,  201,  223,  240, 
245 

Vargas,  Andres  de,  154-155 


402 


INDEX 


Vargas,  Juan  de,  149,  196 

Varona    {La)    Castellana,   81 

Vazquez,  Antonio (?),  41 

Vazquez,  Caspar,  32,  n.  3 

Vazquez,  Juan  [El  Polio),   155,  223 

Vazquez,  Juana,  141 

V^azquez,  Miguel,  141 

Vazquez,  Sebastiana,  147 

Vega,  musician,  63 

Vega,  Fr.  Alonso  de,  257 

Vega,  Alonso  de  la,  Comed'tas,  15, 
n.  I,  170,  n.  2 

Vega,  Alonso  de  la,  69 

Vega,  Andres  de  la,  109,  171,  n., 
177,  185,  187,  200,  n.,  223,  245, 
n.  2,  301,  n. 

Vega,  Francisco  de  la,  12 

Vega,  Gabriel  Laso  de  la,  294,  n.  i 

Vega  Carpio,  Lope  de,  ix;  his  resi- 
dence in  Valencia,  x,  3,  9,  13,  i6, 

36,  37i  38,  39;  compared  with 
Shakespeare,  ibid.;  receives  100 
ducats  for  his   Vellocino  dorado, 

37,  n.  2;  Comedias,  Part  IX,  38; 
Comedias,  Part  XI,  38,  n.  2,  40, 
n.  2;  visits  the  plays  of  the  Ital- 
ians, 44,  45,  53,  63,  66,  n.  4,  70, 
n.  3 ;  La  Dorotea,  74,  n.  2,  174, 
78,  79,  n.  I,  80,  81,  82,  83,  84; 
La  Filomena,  84,  n.  2,  87,  90,  91, 
92.  93.  94.  95.  n.  2,  3,  4,  5;  Pro- 
logo  to  Part  XI  (1618),  96;  to 
Part  XVI  (1623),  96,  97;  Pro- 
logo  to  Part  XIX  (1623),  98; 
Epistola  a  Pablo  Bonnet,  98,  n.  i ; 
Arte  nuevo  de  kacer  Comedias, 
105,  107;  Loas  to  Part  I,  112, 
n.  2;  on  the  "vulgo,"  117,  122, 
146,    156;    El    Castigo    sin    Ven- 

f  ganza,  163,  n.  3,  165,  n.,  170,  172, 
173;  Prologo  to  Part  XVII,  174, 
n.  i;  El  Peregrino  en  su  Patria, 
87,  174-175,  2n,  n.  3;  Prologo  to 
Part  XIII,  175;  on  the  stealing 
of  his  plays,  175-176;  honora- 
rium received,  177,186;  in  Valen- 
cia, 191-192,  196,  199,  211;  letter 
of  October  6,  161 1,  220,  226,  229, 
232,  n.,  233;  Vega  del  Parnaso, 
240;  Selva  sin  Amor,  241  and  n. ; 
elegy  on  Villayzan,  245;  his 
comedias  prohibited,  247,  260; 
actors  praised  by  Lope,  267 ;  his 
house  in  the  players'  quarter, 
272,  n.,  277;  his  loas,  281,  n. ; 
never  uses  the  term  "Jornada," 
286,  n.  3 ;  on  entremeses,  287 ;  the 
entremeses    in    Lope's    comedias, 


288,    n.    4;    he    vi'rites    the    four 

autos   of    1608,    307    and    n.,    323, 

338,  339,  341 
Velasco,  Ana  de,  106,  142,  n.  i 
Velasco,  Francisco  de,  187 
Velasco  liiigo  de,  134,  n.  2 
Velazquez,  Alonso,  32,  n.  2 
Velazquez,  Jeronimo,  xii,  32,  35,  43, 

71,    131,    182,    191,    193,   203,    298, 

n-  3.  299.  317 
Velez   de   Guevara,   Francisco,    134, 

223 
Velez  de  Guevara,  Luis,  ix;  Diablo 

cojuelo,    71,    n.    i,    272,    n. ;    El 

Caballero    del    Sol,    102;    writes  T. 

plays  for  Sanchez,  172,   180,  226,    5 

n.  I,  250,  n.  2,  330,  n.,  341 
Vellocino   (El)  dorado,  37,  n.  2 
Velten,  Johannes,   140 
Vencedor   (El)   <vencido  en  el  Tor- 

neo,  236 
Vengadora    (La)    de   las  Mugeres, 

236 
Venier,  Marie,  139 
Vera,  Diego  de,  48,  50 
Vera    Tassis,    "Life    of    Calderon," 

294 
Verdugo,  Francisca,  202 
Vergara,  Alonso  de,  60 
Vergara,  Juan  de,  193 
Vergara,  Luis  de,  277 
Vestuario  =  dressing-room,    40    and 

n.  2,  92,  93 
Vicente,  Gil,  7,  n.  i,  13,  n.  3,  48,  n.  i 
Victor!  sign  of  approval,  121-124 
Victorias     {Las)     del    Marques    de 

Canete,  235 
"Vida  del  gran  Tacano,"  172,  n.  i, 

278,  n.  I 
Vignali,  Antonio,  of  Siena,  22 
Villaizan  y  Garces,  D.  Jeronimo  de> 

186,  232,  244-245 
Villalba,  Alonso  de,  216 
Villalba,  Juan  de,  214 
Villalba,  Melchor  de,  214,  304, 

.317 
Villalobos,  Juan  Bautista  de,  54 
Villalon,  El  Bachiller,  19,  20 
Villamediana,  Count  of,  238  and  n. 
Villanueva,  Juan  de,  185 
Villanueva,  Pedro  de,  194 
Villaviciosa,  Sebastian  de,   197 
Villegas,  Antonio  de,  32,  n.  3,   150, 

214,  215,  231 
Villegas,  Diego  de,  180 
Villegas,  Juan  Bautista  de,  149,  170^ 

174,  186,  196,  237,  24s 
Villena,  Marquis  of,  5 


INDEX 


403 


rina  (La)  del  Serior,  311,  n.  3 
Virues,   Cristobal   de,  79,  n.   i,  286, 

n.  3 
ritoria   [La)  del  Marques  de  Santa 

Cruz,  96,  n. 
Voltaire,  65,  n.  i 

Wales,  Prince  of,  visits  Spain,  330,  n. 
Wallace,  C.  W.,  65,  n. 
Ward,  A.  W.,  37,  n.  i,  70,  n.  i 
Wolf,  Ferdinand,  x,  4,  n.  2,  5,  n.  i, 
8,  n.,   18,  n.  2,  251,  n.   i;   on  en- 
tremeses,  287,  n.  2,  294,  n.  i 
"Woman  of  Babylon,  The,"  298 
Women    in    Spanish   theaters,    118- 
120;  in  English  and  French  thea- 
ters, 119,  n.  I,  2,  127;  women  on 
the  stage,  137-143;  on  the  French 
stage,     138-139;     French    women 
on  the  London  stage,  139  and  n. ; 
women  on  the  Italian  stage,  140; 
in  Germany,  140-141 ;  women  on 


the  Spanish  stage,  141-143; 
women  in  the  ancient  entremeses, 
141 ;  women  licensed  to  act  in 
Madrid  in  1587,  142;  forbidden 
to  appear  on  the  stage,  145  and 
n.,  207 ;  opposition  to  women  on 
the  stage,  212-213 

Yepes,  Fray  Diego  de,  207,  n.,  210 

Zabaleta,    Juan    de,    197,    199,    290, 

n.    i;    El   Dia    de   Fiesta   por    la 

Tarde,  334-338 
Zamora,  casa  de  comedias  in,  193 
Zarabanda,   the,    70,   71,   n.   4,    143, 

298,  n. 
Zaragoza,  reopening  of  theaters  in, 

249 
Zarzuela,  rehearsals  in,  198 
"Zeitschrift  fiir  Romanische  Philo- 

logie,"  10,  n.  I,  21,  n.  2,  22,  n.  i, 

29,  n.  I 


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discoveries  and  the  men  who  made  them.  Contains  a  collection  of  31  portraits  of  eminent 
mathematicians.  Bibliography,  xix  -I-   299pp.  53/8  x  8.  T255  Paperbound  $1.75 

THE  RESTLESS  UNIVERSE,  Max  Born.  A  remarkably  clear,  thorough  exposition  of  gases, 
electrons,  ions,  waves  and  particles,  electronic  structure  of  the  atom,  nuclear  physics, 
written  for  the  layman  by  a  Nobel  Laureate.  "Much  more  thorough  and  deep  than  most 
attempts  .  .  .  easy  and  delightful,"  CHEMICAL  AND  ENGINEERING  NEWS.  Includes  7  animated 
sequences  showing  motion  of  molecules,  alpha  particles,  etc.  11  full-page  plates  of  photo- 
graphs. Total  of  nearly  600  illus.  315pp.  eVa  x  9V4.  T412  Paperbound  $2.00 

WHAT  IS  SCIENCE?,  N.  Campbell.  The  role  of  experiment,  the  function  of  mathematics,  the 
nature  of  scientific  laws,  the  limitations  of  science,  and  many  other  provocative  topics 
are  explored  without  technicalities  by  an  eminent  scientist.  "Still  an  excellent  introduction 
to   scientific   philosophy,"    H.   Margenau    in    PHYSICS   TODAY.    192Hp.   5%    x   8. 

843  Paperbound   $1.25 


CATALOG  OF 

FADS  AND  FALLACIES  IN  THE  NAME  OF  SCIENCE,  Martin  Gardner.  The  standard  account  of 
the  various  cults,  quack  systems  and  delusions  which  have  recently  masqueraded  as  science: 
hollow  earth  theory,  Atlantis,  dianetics,  Reich's  orgone  theory,  flying  saucers,  Bridey  Murphy, 
psionics,  irridiagnosis,  many  other  fascinating  fallacies  that  deluded  tens  of  thousands. 
"Should  be  read  by  everyone,  scientist  and  non-scientist  alike,"  R.  T.  Birge,  Prof.  Emeritus, 
Univ.  of  California;  Former  President,  American  Physical  Society.  Formerly  titled,  "In  the 
Name  of  Science."  Revised  and  enlarged  edition,  x  +   365pp.  5Vb  x  8. 

T394  Paperbound  $1.50 

THE  STUDY  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  MATHEMATICS,  THE  STUDY  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  SCIENCE, 
G.  Sarton.  Two  books  bound  as  one.  Both  volumes  are  standard  introductions  to  their  fields 
by  an  eminent  science  historian.  They  discuss  problems  of  historical  research,  teaching, 
pitfalls,  other  matters  of  interest  to  the  historically  oriented  writer,  teacher,  or  student. 
Both  have  extensive  bibliographies.  10  illustrations.  188pp.  53/8  x  8.        T240  Paperbound  $1.25 

THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  SCIENCE,  W.  S.  Jevons.  Unabridged  reprinting  of  a  milestone  in  the 
development  of  symbolic  logic  and  other  subjects  concerning  scientific  methodology,  proba- 
bility, inferential  validity,  etc.  Also  describes  Jevons'  "logic  machiner"  an  early  precursor 
of  modern  electronic  calculators.  Preface  by  E.  Nagel.  839pp.  SYa  x  8.     S446  Paperbound  $2.98 

SCIENCE  THEORY  AND  MAN,  Erwin  Schroedlnger.  Complete,  unabridged  reprinting  of  "Science 
and  the  Human  Temperament"  plus  an  additional  essay  "What  is  an  Elementary  Particle?" 
Nobel  Laureate  Schroedlnger  discusses  many  aspects  of  modern  physics  from  novel  points 
of  view  which   provide  unusual   insights  for  both   laymen  and  physicists.   192  pp.  SYs  x  8. 

T428  Paperbound  $1.35 

BRIDGES  AND  THEIR  BUILDERS,  D.  B.  Stelnman  &  S.  R.  Watson.  Information  about  ancient, 
medieval,  modern  bridges;  how  they  were  built;  who  built  them;  the  structural  principles 
employed;  the  materials  they  are  built  of;  etc.  Written  by  one  of  the  world's  leading 
authorities  on  bridge  design  and  construction.  New,  revised,  expanded  edition.  23  photos; 
26   line   drawings,   xvii    -f    401pp.   53/8   x   8.  T431    Paperbound    $1.95 

HISTORY  OF  MATHEMATICS,  D.  E.  Smith.  Most  comprehensive  non-technical  history  of  math 
in  English.  In  two  volumes.  Vol.  I:  A  chronological  examination  of  the  growth  of  mathe- 
matics from  primitive  concepts  up  to  1900.  Vol.  II:  The  development  of  ideas  in  specific  fields 
and  areas,  up  through  elementary  calculus.  The  lives  and  works  of  over  a  thousand  mathema- 
ticians are  covered;  thousands  of  specific  historical  problems  and  their  solutions  are 
clearly  explained.  Total  of  510  illustrations,  1355pp.  534  x  8.  Set  boxed  in  attractive  con- 
tainer. T429,   T430  Paperbound,   the   set  $5.00 

PHILOSOPHY  AND  THE  PHYSICISTS,  L.  S.  Stebbing.  A  philosopher  examines  the  philosophical 
implications  of  modern  science  by  posing  a  lively  critical  attack  on  the  popular  science 
expositions   of  Sir  James  Jeans  and  Arthur   Eddington.   xvi    +    295pp.   53/8   x  8. 

T480   Paperbound  $1.65 

ON  MATHEMATICS  AND  MATHEMATICIANS,  R.  E.  Moritz.  The  first  collection  of  quotations  by 
and  about  mathematicians  in  English.  1140  anecdotes,  aphorisms,  definitions,  speculations, 
etc.  give  both  mathematicians  and  layman  stimulating  new  insights  into  what  mathematics 
is,  and  into  the  personalities  of  the  great  mathematicians  from  Archimedes  to  Euler,  Gauss, 
Klein,   Weierstrass.    Invaluable  to  teachers,  writers.  Extensive  cross   index.  410pp.   53/8  x  8. 

T489  Paperbound  $1.95 

^ATURAL  SCIENCE,  BIOLOGY,  GEOLOGY,  TRAVEL 

A  SHORT   HISTORY  OF  ANATOMY  AND   PHYSIOLOGY  FROM  THE   GREEKS  TO   HARVEY,   C.   Singer. 

A  great  medical  historian's  fascinating  intermediate  account  of  the  slow  advance  of  anatom- 
ical and  physiological  knowledge  from  pre-scientific  times  to  Vesalius,  Harvey.  139  unusu- 
ally  interesting   illustrations.  221pp.  53/3   x  8.  T389   Paperbound  $1.75 

THE  BEHAVIOUR  AND  SOCIAL  LIFE  OF  HONEYBEES,  Ronald  Ribbands.  The  most  comprehensive, 
lucid  and  authoritative  book  on  bee  habits,  communication,  duties,  cell  life,  motivations, 
etc.  "A  MUST  for  every  scientist,  experimenter,  and  educator,  and  a  happy  and  valuable 
selection  for  all  interested  in  the  honeybee,"  AMERICAN  BEE  JOURNAL.  690-item  bibliography. 
127  illus.;    11    photographic    plates.    352pp.  53/8  x  83/8.  S410   Clothbound    $4.50 

TRAVELS  OF  WILLIAM  BARTRAM,  edited  by  Mark  Van  Doren.  One  of  the  18th  century's  most 
delightful  books,  and  one  of  the  few  first-hand  sources  of  information  about  American 
geography,  natural  history,  and  anthropology  of  American  Indian  tribes  of  the  time.  "The 
mind  of  a  scientist  with  the  soul  of  a  poet,"  John  Livingston  Lowes.  13  original  illustra- 
tions, maps.  Introduction  by  Mark  Van  Doren.  448pp.  53/3  x  8.  T326  Paperbound  $2.00 

STUDIES    ON    THE    STRUCTURE    AND    DEVELOPMENT    OF    VERTEBRATES,    Edwin    Goodrich.    The 

definitive  study  of  the  skeleton,  fins  and  limbs,  head  region,  divisions  of  the  body  cavity, 
vascular,  respiratory,  excretory  systems,  etc.,  of  vertebrates  from  fish  to  higher  mammals,  by 
the  greatest  comparative  anatomist  of  recent  times.  "The  standard  textbook,"  JOURNAL  OF 
ANATOMY.  754  illus.  69-page  biographical  study.  1186-item  bibliography.  2  vols.  Total  of 
906pp.  53/3  X  8.  Vol.   I:  S449  Paperbound  $2.50 

Vol.  11:  S450  Paperbound  $2.50 


DOVER  BOOKS 

THE  BIRTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  GEOLOGICAL  SCIENCES,  f.  D.  Adams.  The  most  com- 
plete and  thorough  history  of  the  earth  sciences  in  print.  Covers  over  300  geological  thinkers 
and  systems;  treats  fossils,  theories  of  stone  growth,  paleontology,  earthquakes,  vulcanists 
vs.  neptunists,  odd  theories,  etc.  91  illustrations,  including  medieval,  Renaissance  wood  cuts, 
etc.  632  footnotes  and  bibliographic  notes.  511pp.  308pp.  53/8  x  8.  T5  Paperbound  $2.00 

FROM  MAGIC  TO  SCIENCE,  Charles  Singer.  A  close  study  of  aspects  of  medical  science  from 
the  Roman  Empire  through  the  Renaissance.  The  sections  on  early  herbals,  and  "The  Visions 
of  Hildegarde  of  Bingen,"  are  probably  the  best  studies  of  these  subjects  available.  158 
unusual  classic  and  medieval  illustrations,  xxvji  +  365pp.  5^/e  x  8.      T390  Paperbound  $2.00 

SAILING  ALONE  AROUND  THE  WORLD,  Captain  Joshua  Slocum.  Captain  Slocum's  personal 
account  of  his  single-handed  voyage  around  the  world  in  a  34-foot  boat  he  rebuilt  himself. 
A  classic  of  both  seamanship  and  descriptive  writing.  "A  nautical  equivalent  of  Thoreau's 
account,"  Van  Wyck  Brooks.  67  lllus.  308pp.  SVe  x  8.  T326  Paperbound  $1.00 

TREES  OF  THE  EASTERN  AND  CENTRAL  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA,  W.  M.  Harlow.  Standard 
middle-level  guide  designed  to  help  you  know  the  characteristics  of  Eastern  trees  and 
identify  them  at  sight  by  means  of  an  8-page  synoptic  key.  More  than  600  drawings  and 
photographs   of   twigs,   leaves,   fruit,   other  features,   xiii    +    288pp.  45/8  x  6V2. 

T395  Paperbound  $1.35 

FRUIT  KEY  AND  TVIfIG  KEY  ("Fruit  Key  to  Northeastern  Trees,"  "Twig  Key  to  Deciduous 
Woody  Plants  of  Eastern  North  America"),  W.  M.  Harlow.  Identify  trees  in  fall,  winter, 
spring.  Easy-to-use,  synoptic  keys,  with  photographs  of  every  twig  and  fruit  identified. 
Covers  120  different  fruits,  160  different  twigs.  Over  350  photos.  Bibliographies.  Glossaries. 
Total   of  143pp.  55/8  X  83/8.  T511   Paperbound  $1.25 

INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  STUDY  OF  EXPERIMENTAL  MEDICINE,  Claude  Bernard.  This  classic 
records  Bernard's  far-reaching  efforts  to  transform  physiology  into  an  exact  science.  It 
covers  problems  of  vivisection,  the  limits  of  physiological  experiment,  hypotheses  in  medical 
experimentation,  hundreds  of  others.  Many  of  his  own  famous  experiments  on  the  liver,  the 
pancreas,  etc.,  are  used  as  examples.  Foreword  by  I.  B.  Cohen,  xxv  -I-  266pp.  53/8  x  8. 

T400   Paperbound   $1.50 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  LIFE,  A.  I.  Oparin.  The  tirst  modern  statement  that  life  evolved  from  complex 
nitro-carbon  compounds,  carefully  presented  according  to  modern  biochemical  knowledge  of 
primary  colloids,  organic  molecules,  etc.  Begins  with  historical  introduction  to  the  problem 
of  the  origin  of  life.  Bibliography,  xxv  +  270pp.  53/8  x  8.  S213  Paperbound  $1.75 

A  HISTORY  OF  ASTRONOMY  FROM  THALES  TO  KEPLER,  J.  L.  E.  Dreyer.  The  only  work  in  English 
which  provides  a  detailed  picture  of  man's  cosmological  views  from  Egypt,  Babylonia,  Greece, 
and  Alexandria  to  Copernicus,  Tycho  Brahe  and  Kepler.  "Standard  reference  on  Greek 
astronomy  and  the  Copernican  revolution,"  SKY  AND  TELESCOPE.  Formerly  called  "A  History  of 
Planetary  Systems  From  Thales  to  Kepler."  Bibliography.  21  diagrams,  xvii  +  430pp.  53/8  x  8. 

S79   Paperbound   $1.98 

URANIUM  PROSPECTING,  H.  L.  Barnes.  A  professional  geologist  tells  you  what  you  need  to 
know.  Hundreds  of  facts  about  minerals,  tests,  detectors,  sampling,  assays,  claiming,  develop- 
ing, government  regulations,  etc.  Glossary  of  technical  terms.  Annotated  bibliography. 
x  -I-   117pp.  53/8  X  8.  T309  Paperbound  $1.00 

DE  RE  METALLICA,  Georgius  Agricola.  All  12  books  of  this  400  year  old  classic  on  metals 
and  metal  production,  fully  annotated,  and  containing  all  289  of  the  16th  century  woodcuts 
which  made  the  original  an  artistic  masterpiece.  A  superb  gift  for  geologists,  engineers, 
libraries,  artists,  historians.  Translated  by  Herbert  Hoover  &  L.  H.  Hoover.  Bibliography, 
survey  of  ancient  authors.  289  illustrations  of  the  excavating,  assaying,  smelting,  refining, 
and  countless  other  metal  production  operations  described  in  the  text.  672pp.  63/4  x  10%. 
Deluxe  library  edition.  S6  Clothbound   $10.00 

DE  MAGNETE,  William  Gilbert.  A  landmark  of  science  by  the  man  who  first  used  the  word 
"electricity,"  distinguished  between  static  electricity  and  magnetism,  and  founded  a  new 
science.  P.  F.  Mottelay  translation.  90  figures,  lix  -I-  368pp.  53/8  x  8.      S470  Paperbound  $2.00 

THE    AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    CHARLES    DARWlVl    AND    SELECTED    LETTERS,    Francis    Darwin,    ed. 

Fascinating  documents  on  Darwin's  early  life,  the  voyage  of  the  "Beagle,"  the  discovery  of 
evolution,  Darwin's  thought  on  mimicry,  plant  development,  vivisection,  evolution,  many 
other  subjects  Letters  to  Henslow,  Lyell,  Hooker,  Wallace,  Kingsley,  etc.  Appendix.  365pp. 
53/fe  X  8.  T479  Paperbound  $1.65 

A  WAY  OF  LIFE  AND  OTHER  SELECTED  WRITINGS  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  OSLER.  16  of  the  great 
physician,  teacher  and  humanist's  most  inspiring  writings  on  a  practical  philosophy  of  life, 
science  and  the  humanities,  and  the  history  of  medicine.  5  photographs.  Introduction  by 
G.  L.  Keynes,  M.D.,  F.R.C.S.  xx   -t-   278pp.  53/8  x  8.  T488  Paperbound  $1.50 


CATALOG  OF 
LITERATURE 

WORLD  DRAMA,  B.  H.  Clark.  46  plays  from  Ancient  Greece,  Rome,  to  India,  China,  Japan. 
Plays  by  Aeschylus,  Sophocles,  Euripides,  Aristophanes,  Plautus,  Marlowe,  Jonson,  Farquhar, 
Goldsmith,  Cervantes,  Moliere,  Dumas,  Goethe,  Schiller,  Ibsen,  many  others.  One  of  the 
most  comprehensive  collections  of  important  plays  from  all  literature  available  in  English. 
Over  1/3  of  this  material  is  unavailable  in  any  other  current  edition.  Reading  lists.  2  vol- 
umes. Total  of  1364pp.  5%  x  8.  Vol.   I,  T57  Paperbound  $2.00 

Vol.   II,  T59  Paperbound  $2.00 

MASTERS  OF  THE  DRAMA,  John  Gassner.  The  most  comprehensive  history  of  the  drama  in 
print.  Covers  more  than  800  dramatists  and  over  2000  plays  from  the  Greeks  to  modern 
Western,  Near  Eastern,  Oriental  drama.  Plot  summaries,  theatre  history,  etc.  "Best  of  its 
kind  in  English,"  NEW  REPUBLIC.  35  pages  of  bibliography.  77  photos  and  drawings.  Deluxe 
edition,   xxii    +    890pp.  53/8   x  8.  TlOO  Clothbound   $5.95 

THE  DRAMA  OF  LUIGI  PIRANDELLO,  D.  Vittorlni.  All  38  of  Pirandello's  plays  (to  1935)  sum- 
marized and  analyzed  in  terms  of  symbolic  techniques,  plot  structure,  etc.  The  only  authorized 
work.  Foreword  by  Pirandello.   Biography.   Bibliography,   xili    +    350pp.   5%  x  8. 

T435  Paperbound  $1.98 

ARISTOTLE'S  THEORY  OF  POETRY  AND  THE  FINE  ARTS,  S.  H.  Butcher,  £d.  The  celebrated 
"Butcher  translation"  faced  page  by  page  with  the  Greek  text;  Butcher's  300-page  introduc- 
tion to  Greek  poetic,  dramatic  thought.  Modern  Aristotelian  criticism  discussed  by  John 
Gassner.  Ixxvl   +  421pp.  5%  x  8. 

T42  Paperbound  $2.00 

EUGENE  O'NEILL:  THE  MAN  AND  HIS  PLAYS,  B.  H.  Clark.  The  first  published  source-book  on 
O'Neill's  life  and  work.  Analyzes  each  play  from  the  early  THE  WEB  up  to  THE  ICEMAN 
COMETH.  Supplies  much  information  about  environmental  and  dramatic  influences,  ix  +  182pp. 
53/8  X  8.  T379   Paperbound  $1.25 

INTRODUCTION  TO  ENGLISH  LITERATURE,  B.  Dobr^e,  ed.  Most  compendious  literary  aid  in  its 
price  range.  Extensive,  categorized  bibliography  (with  entries  up  to  1949)  of  more  than 
5,000  poets,  dramatists,  novelists,  as  well  as  historians,  philosophers,  economists,  religious 
writers,  travellers,  and  scientists  of  literary  stature.  Information  about  manuscripts.  Impor- 
tant biographical  data.  Critical,  historical,  background  works  not  simply  listed,  but  evaluated. 
Each  volume  also  contains  a  long  introduction  to  the  period  it  covers. 

Vol.  I:  THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  TO  SKELTON,  1509,  W.  L.  Renwick.  H.  Orton. 

450pp.  51/8  X  71/8.  T75  Clothbound  $3.50 

Vol.   II:  THE  ENGLISH  RENAISSANCE,   1510-1688,  V.  de  Sola  Pinto.  381pp.   SVs  x  7V». 

T76  Clothbound  $3.50 

Vol.   Ill:  THE  AUGUSTANS  AND  ROMANTICS,   1689-1830,  H.  Dyson,  J.   Butt.  320pp.  51/8  x- 71/8. 

T77  Clothbound  $3.50 

Vol.   IV:  THE   VICTORIANS   AND   AFTER,    1830-1914,   E.    Batho,    B.    Dobrge.   360pp.    5V8   x   7V8. 

T78   Clothbound    $3.50 

EPIC  AND  ROMANCE,  W.  P  Ker.  The  standard  survey  of  Medieval  epic  and  romance  by  a  fore- 
most authority  on  Medieval  literature.  Covers  historical  background,  plot,  literary  analysis, 
significance  of  Teutonic  epics,  Icelandic  sagas,  Beowulf,  French  chansons  de  geste,  the 
Niebelungenlied,  Arthurian  romances,  much  more.  422pp.  5y8  x  8.        T355  Paperbound  $1.95 

4hK  HEART  OF  EMERSON'S  JOURNALS,  Bliss  Perry,  ed.  Emerson's  most  intimate  thoughts, 
impressions,  records  of  conversations  with  Channing,  Hawthorne,  Thoreau,  etc.,  carefully 
chosen  from  the  10  volumes  of  The  Journals.  "The  essays  do  not  reveal  the  power  of 
Emerson's  mind  .  .  .as  do  these  hasty  and  informal  writings,"  N.  Y.  TIMES.  Preface  by 
B.  Perry.  370pp.  5%  x  8.  T447  Paperbound  $1.85 

A  SOURCE  BOOK  IN  THEATRICAL  HISTORY,  A.  M.  Nagler.  (Formerly,  "Sources  of  Theatrical 
History.")  Over  300  selected  passages  by  contemporary  observers  tell  about  styles  of  acting, 
direction,  make-up,  scene  designing,  etc.,  in  the  theatre's  great  periods  from  ancient  Greece 
to  the  Theatre  Libre.  "Indispensable  complement  to  the  study  of  drama,"  EDUCATIONAL 
THEATRE  JOURNAL.  Prof.  Nagler,  Yale  Univ.  School  of  Drama,  also  supplies  notes,  references. 
85  illustrations.  611pp.  5%  x  8.  T515  Paperbound  $2.75 

THE  ART  OF  THE  STORY-TELLER,  M.  L.  Shedlock.  Regarded  as  the  finest,  most  helpful  book 
on  telling  stories  to  children,  by  a  great  story-telleT.  How  to  catch,  hold,  recapture  attention; 
how  to  choose  material;  many  other  aspects.  Also  includes:  a  99-page  selection  of  Miss 
Shedlock's  most  successful  stories;  extensive  bibliography  of  other  stories,  xxi  +  320pp. 
5%  x  8.  T245  Clothbound  $3.50 

THE  DEVIL'S  DICTIONARY,  Ambrose  Bierce.  Over  1000  short,  ironic  definitions  In  alphabetical 
order,  by  America's  greatest  satirist  in  the  classical  tradition.  "Some  of  tITe  most  gorgeous 
¥»itticisms  in  the  English  language,"  H.  L.  Mencken.  144pp.  5%  x  8.        T487  Paperbound  $1.00 


DOVER  BOOKS 

MUSIC 

A  DICTIONARY  OF  HYMNOLOGY,  John  Julian.  More  than  30,000  entries  on  individual  hymns, 
their  authorship,  textual  variations,  location  of  texts,  dates  and  circumstances  of  composi- 
tion, denominational  and  ritual  usages,  the  biographies  of  more  than  9,000  hymn  writers, 
essays  on  important  topics  such  as  children's  hymns  and  Christmas  carols,  and  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  other  important  facts  about  hymns  which  are  virtually  impossible  to  find 
anywhere  else.  Convenient  alphabetical  listing,  and  a  200-page  double-columned  index  of 
first  lines  enable  you  to  track  down  virtually  any  hymn  ever  written.  Total  of  1786pp. 
6V4  x  9V4.  2  volumes.  T133.  The  Set,  Clothbound  $15.00 

STRUCTURAL  HEARING,  TONAL  COHERENCE  IN  MUSIC,  Felix  Salzer.  Extends  the  well-known 
Schenker  approach  to  include  modern  music,  music  of  the  middle  ages,  and  Renaissance 
music.  Explores  the  phenomenon  of  tonal  organization  by  discussing  more  than  500  composi- 
tions, and  offers  unusual  new  Insights  into  the  theory  of  composition  and  musical  relation- 
ships. "The  foundation  on  which  all  teaching  in  music  theory  has  been  based  at  this 
college,"  Leopold  Mannes,  President,  The  Mannes  College  of  Music.  Total  of  658pp.  6V2  x  9V4. 
2  volumes.  S418  The  set,  Clothbound  $8.00 

A  GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  MUSIC,  Charles  Burney.  The  complete  history  of  music  from  the 
Greeks  up  to  1789  by  the  18th  century  musical  historian  who  personally  knew  the  great 
Baroque  composers.  Covers  sacred  and  secular,  vocal  and  instrumental,  operatic  and  sym- 
phonic music;  treats  theory,  notation,  forms,  instruments;  discusses  composers,  performers, 
important  works.  Invaluable  as  a  source  of  information  on  the  period  for  students,  historians, 
musicians.  "Surprisingly  few  of  Burney's  statements  have  been  invalidated  by  modern  re- 
search .  .  .  still  of  great  value,"  NEW  YORK  TIMES.  Edited  and  corrected  by  Frank  Mercer. 
35  figures.   1915pp.  5V2  x  8V2.  2  volumes.  T36  The  set,  Clothbound  $12.50 

JOHANN  SEBASTIAN  BACH,  Phillip  Spltta.  Recognized  as  one  of  the  greatest  accomplishments 
of  musical  scholarship  and  far  and  away  the  definitive  coverage  of  Bach's  works.  Hundreds 
of  individual  pieces  are  analyzed.  Major  works,  such  as  the  B  Minor  Mass  and  the  St. 
Matthew  Passion  are  examined  in  minute  detail.  Spitta  also  deals  with  the  works  of 
Buxtehude,  Pachelbel,  and  others  of  the  period.  Can  be  read  with  profit  even  by  those 
without  a  knowledge  of  the  technicalities  of  musical  composition.  "Unchallenged  as  the  last 
word  on  one  of  the  supreme  geniuses  of  music,"  John  Barkham,  SATURDAY  REVIEW  SYNDI- 
CATE. Total  of  1819pp.  53/8  x  8.  2  volumes.  T252  The  set,  Clothbound  $10.00 

HISTORY 

THE  IDEA  OF  PROGRESS,  J.  B.  Bury.  Prof.  Bury  traces  the  evolution  of  a  central  concept  of 
Western  civilization  in  Greek,  Roman,  Medieval,  and  Renaissance  thought  to  its  flowering 
in  the  17th  and  18th  centuries.  Introduction  by  Charles  Beard,  xl   +  357pp.  5^^  x  8. 

T39   Clothbound   $3.95 
T40  Paperbound  $1.95 

THE  ANCIENT  GREEK  HISTORIANS,  J.  B.  Bury.  Greek  historians  such  as  Herodotus,  Thucydides, 
Xenophon;  Roman  historians  such  as  Tacitus,  Caesar,  Livy;  scores  of  others  fully  analyzed 
in  terms  of  sources,  concepts,  influences,  etc.,  by  a  great  scholar  and  historian.  291pp. 
5%  X  8.  T397  Paperbound  $1.50 

HISTORY  OF  THE  LATER  ROMAN  EMPIRE,  J.  B.  Bury.  The  standard  work  on  the  Byzantine 
Empire  from  395  A.D.  to  the  death  of  Justinian  in  565  A.D.,  by  the  leading  Byzantine  scholar 
of  our  time.  Covers  political,  social,  cultural,  theological,  military  history.  Quotes  contem- 
porary documents  extensively.  "Most  unlikely  that  it  will  ever  be  superseded,"  Glanville 
Downey,  Dumbarton  Oaks  Research  Library.  Genealogical  tables.  5  maps.  Bibliography.  2  vols. 
Total  of  965pp.  53/8  x  8.  T398,  T399   Paperbound,  the  set  $4.00 

GARDNER'S  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  BOOK  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR,  Alexander  Gardner.  One  of  the 

rarest  and  most  valuable  Civil  War  photographic  collections  exactly  reproduced  for  the  first 
time  since  1866.  Scenes  of  Manassas,  Bull  Run,  Harper's  Ferry,  Appomattox,  Mechanicsville, 
Fredericksburg,  Gettysburg,  etc.;  battle  ruins,  prisons,  arsenals,  a  slave  pen,  fortifications; 
Lincoln  on  the  field,  officers,  men,  corpses.  By  one  of  the  most  famous  pioneers  in  docu- 
mentary photography.  Original  copies  of  the  "Sketch  Book"  sold  for  $425  in  1952.  Introduc- 
tion  by  E.   Bleiler.   100  full-page   7   x   10   photographs   (original   size).   244pp.  10%  x    8V2 

T476  Clothbound  $6.00 

THE  WORLD'S  GREAT  SPEECHES,  L.  Copeland  and  L.  Lamm,  eds.  255  speeches  from  Pericles  to 
Churchill,  Dylan  Thomas.  Invaluable  as  a  guide  to  speakers;  fascinating  as  history  past  and 
present;  a  source  of  much  difficult-to-find  material.  Includes  an  extensive  section  of  informal 
and  humorous  speeches.  3  indices:   Topic,  Author,   Nation,  xx   +   745pp.  53/8  x  8. 

T468  Paperbound  $2.49 

FOUNDERS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES,  E.  K.  Rand.  The  best  non-technical  discussion  of  the 
transformation  of  Latin  paganism  into  medieval  civilization.  Tertullian,  Gregory,  Jerome, 
Boethius,  Augustine,  the  Neoplatonists,  other  crucial  figures,  philosophies  examined.  Excel- 
lent for  the  intelligent  non-specialist.  "Extraordinarily  accurate,"  Richard  McKeon,  THE 
NATION,  ix  +  365pp.  53/8  x  8.  T369  Paperbound  $1.85 


CATALOG  OF 

THE  POLITICAL  THOUGHT  OF  PLATO  AND  ARISTOTLE,  Ernest  Barker.  The  standard,  compre- 
hensive exposition  of  Greek  political  thought.  Covers  every  aspect  of  the  "Republic"  and  the 
"Politics"  as  well  as  minor  writings,  other  philosophers,  theorists  of  the  period,  and  the 
later  history  of  Greek  political   thought.   Unabridged  edition.  584pp.   5%  x  8. 

T521  Paperbound  $1.85 

PHILOSOPHY 

THE  GIFT  OF  LANGUAGE,  M.  Schlauch.  (Formerly,  "The  Gift  of  Tongues.")  A  sound,  middle- 
level  treatment  of  linguistic  families,  word'  histories,  grammatic'al  processes,  semantics, 
language  taboos,  word-coining  of  Joyce,  Cummings,  Stein,  etc.  232  bibliographical  notes. 
350pp.   5%   X   8.  T243    Paperbound   $1.85 

THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  HEGEL,  W.  T.  Stace.  The  first  work  in  English  to  give  a  complete  and 
connected  view  of  Hegel's  entire  system.  Especially  valuable  to  those  who  do  not  have 
time  to  study  the  highly  complicated  original  texts,  yet  want  an  accurate  presentation  by 
a  most  reputable  scholar  of  one  of  the  most  influential  19th  century  thinkers.  Includes  a 
14  X  20  fold-out  chart  of  Hegelian  system.  536pp.  53/8  x  8.  T254  Paperbound   $2.00 

ARISTOTLE,  A.  E.  Taylor.  A  lucid,  non-technical  account  of  Aristotle  written  by  a  foremost 
Platonist.  Covers  life  and  works;  thought  on  matter,  form,  causes,  logic,  God,  physics, 
metaphysics,  etc.  Bibliography.  New  index  compiled  for  this  edition.   128pp.  5%  x  8. 

T280  Paperbound  $1.00 

GUIDE  TO  PHILOSOPHY,  C.  E.  M.  Joad.  This  basic  work  describes  the  major  philosophic  prob- 
lems and  evaluates  the  answers  propounded  by  great  philosophers  from  the  Greeks  to 
Whitehead,  Russell.  "The  finest  introduction,"  BOSTON  TRANSCRIPT.  Bibliography,  592pp. 
5%  X  8.  T297  Paperbound  $2.00 

LANGUAGE  AND  MYTH,  E.  Cassirer.  Cassirer's  brilliant  demonstration  that  beneath  both  lan- 
guage and  myth  lies  an  unconscious  "grammar"  of  experience  whose  categories  and  canons 
are  not  those  of  logical  thought.  Introduction  and  translation  by  Susanne  Langer.  Index. 
X  +   103pp.  5%  X  8.  T51  Paperbound  $1.25 

SUBSTANCE  AND  FUNCTION,  EINSTEIN'S  THEORY  OF  RELATIVITY,  E.  Cassirer.  This  double  vol- 
ume contains  the  German  philosopher's  profound  philosophical  formulation  of  the  differences 
between  traditional  logic  and  the  new  logic  of  science.  Number,  space,  energy,  relativity, 
many  other  topics  are  treated  in  detail.  Authorized  translation  by  W.  C.  and  M.  C.  Swabey. 
xii    -I-   465pp.  5%  x  8.  T50   Paperbound   $2.00 

THE  PHILOSOPHICAL  WORKS  OF  DESCARTES.  The  definitive  English  edition,  in  two  volumes, 
of  all  major  philosophical  works  and  letters  of  Ren6  Descartes,  father  of  modern  philosophy 
of  knowledge  and  science.  Translated  by  E.  S.  Haldane  and  G.  Ross.  Introductory  notes. 
Total  of  842pp.  53/8  x  8.  T71  Vol.  1,  Paperbound  $2.00 

T72  Vol.  2,  Paperbound  $2.00 

ESSAYS  IN  EXPERII\AENTAL  LOGIC,  J.  Dewey.  Based  upon  Dewey's  theory  that  knowledge 
implies  a  judgment  which  in  turn  implies  an  inquiry,  these  papers  consider  such  topics  as 
the  thought  of  Bertrand  Russell,  pragmatism,  the  logic  of  values,  antecedents  of  thought, 
data  and  meanings.  452pp.  53/b  x  8.  T73  Paperbound  $1.95 

THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  HISTORY,  G.  W.  F.  Hegel.  This  classic  of  Western  thought  is  Hegel's 
detailed  formulation  of  the  thesis  that  history  is  not  chance  but  a  rational  process,  the 
realization  of  the  Spirit  of  Freedom.  Translated  and  introduced  by  J.  Sibree.  Introduction 
0f  C.  Hegel.  Special  introduction  for  this  edition  by  Prof.  Carl  Friedrich,  Harvard  University, 
xxxix   -I-   447pp.  5%  X  8.  T112  Paperbound  $1.85 

THE  WILL  TO  BELIEVE  and  HUMAN  IMMORTALITY,  W.  James.  Two  of  James's  most  profourfd 
investigations  of  human  belief  in  God  and  immortality,  bound  as  one  volume.  Both  are 
powerful  expressions  of  James's  views  on  chance  vs.  determinism,  pluralism  vs.  monism, 
will  and   intellect,  arguments  for  survival   after  death,   etc.  Two   prefaces.   429pp.   5^/a  x  8. 

T294  Clothbound   $3.75 
T291  Paperbound  $1.65 

INTRODUCTION  TO  SYMBOLIC  LOGIC,  S.  Langer.  A  lucid,  general  introduction  to  modern 
logic,  covering  forms,  classes,  the  use  of  symbols,  the  calculus  of  propositions,  the  Boole- 
Schroeder  and  the  Russell-Whitehead  systems,  etc.  "One  of  the  clearest  and  simplest  intro- 
ductions,"  MATHEMATICS  GAZETTE.   Second,   enlarged,   revised   edition.   368pp.   5%   x  8. 

S164  Paperbound  $1.75 

MIND  AND  THE  WORLD-ORDER,  C.  I.  Lewis.  Building  upon  the  work  of  Peirce,  James,  and 
Dewey,  Professor  Lewis  outlines  a  theory  of  knowledge  in  terms  of  "conceptual  pragmatism," 
and  demonstrates  why  the  traditional  understanding  of  the  a  priori  must  be  abandoned. 
Appendices,   xiv    -I-   446pp.   53/8   x  8.  T359   Paperbound   $1.95 

THE  GUIDE  FOR  THE  PERPLEXED, M.Maimonides  One  of  the  great  philosophical  works  of  all 
time,  Maimonides'  formulation  of  the  meeting-ground  between  Old  Testament  and  Aristotelian 
thought  is  essential  to  anyone  interested  in  Jewish,  Christian,  and  Moslem  thought  in  the 
Middle  Ages.  2nd  revised  edition  of  the  Friedlander  translation.  Extensive  introduction,  lix 
+  414pp.  5%  x  8.  T351  Paperbound  $1.85 


DOVER  BOOKS 

THE  PHILOSOPHICAL  WRITINGS  OF  PEIRCE,  J.  Buchler,  ed.  (Formerly,  "The  Philosophy  of 
Peirce.")  This  carefully  integrated  selection  of  Peirce's  papers  is  considered  the  best  cov- 
erage of  the  complete  thought  of  one  of  the  greatest  philosophers  of  modern  times.  Covers 
Peirce's  v^rork  on  the  theory  of  signs,  pragmatism,  epistemology,  symbolic  logic,  the  scientific 
method,   chance,   etc.   xvi    +    386pp.    5   %   x   8.  T216   Clothbound    $5.00 

T217  Paperbound  ?1.95 

HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  PHILOSOPHY,  W.  WIndelband.  Considered  the  clearest  survey  of  Greek 
and  Roman  philosophy.  Examines  Thales,  Anaximander,  .Anaximenes,  Heraclitus,  the  Eleatics, 
Empedocles,  the  Pythagoreans,  the  Sophists,  Socrates,  Democritus,  Stoics,  Epicureans,  Sceptics, 
Neo-platonists,  etc.  50  pages  on  Plato;  70  on  Aristotle.  2nd  German  edition  tr.  by  H.  E. 
Cushman.  xv   +  393pp.  53/8  x  8.  T357  Paperbound  $1.75 

INTRODUCTION  TO  SYMBOLIC  LOGIC  AND  ITS  APPLICATIONS,  R.  Carnap.  A  comprehensive, 
rigorous  introduction  to  modern  logic  by  perhaps  its  greatest  living  master.  Includes 
demonstrations  of  applications  in  mathematics,  physics,  biology.  "Of  the  rank  of  a 
masterpiece,"  Z.  fiir  Mathematik  und  ihre  Grenzgebiete.  Over  300  exercises,  xvi  +  241pp. 
5%  X  8.  Clothbound  $4.00 

S453   Paperbound  $1.85 

SCEPTICISM  AND  ANIMAL  FAITH,  G.  Santayana.  Santayana's  unusually  lucid  exposition  of  the 
difference  between  the  independent  existence  of  objects  and  the  essence  our  mind  attributes 
to  them,  and  of  the  necessity  of  scepticism  as  a  form  of  belief  and  animal  faith  as  a  neces- 
sary condition  of  knowledge.  Discusses  belief,  memory,  Intuition,  symbols,  etc.  xii  +  314pp. 
5%  X  8.  T235   Clothbound   $3.50 

T236  Paperbound  $1.50 

THE  ANALYSIS  OF  MATTER,  B.  Russell.  With  his  usual  brilliance,  Russell  analyzes  physics, 
causality,  scientific  inference,  Weyl's  theory,  tensors,  invariants,  periodicity,  etc.  in  order 
to  discover  the  basic  concepts  of  scientific  thought  about  matter.  "Most  thorough  treatment 
of  the  subject,"   THE   NATION.  Introduction.   8  figures,   viii    -I-    408pp.   53/8   x  8. 

T231   Paperbound  $1.95 

THE  SENSE  OF  BEAUTY,  G.  Santayana.  This  important  philosophical  study  of  why,  when,  and 
how  beauty  appears,  and  what  conditions  must  be  fulfilled,  is  in  itself  a  revelation  of  the 
beauty  of  language.  "It  is  doubtful  if  a  better  treatment  of  the  subject  has  since  appeared," 
PEABODY  JOURNAL,   ix   +   275pp.  53/8  x  8.  T238  Paperbound  $1.00 

THE  CHIEF  WORKS  OF  SPINOZA.  In  two  volumes.  Vol.  I:  The  Theologico-Political  Treatise  and 
the  Political  Treatise.  Vol.  II:  On  the  Improvement  of  Understanding,  The  Ethics,  and 
Selected  Letters.  The  permanent  and  enduring  ideas  In  these  works  on  God,  the  universe, 
religion,  society,  etc.,  have  had  tremendous  impact  on  later  philosophical  works.  Introduc- 
tion. Total  of  862pp.  53/8  X  8.  T249  Vol.  I,  Paperbound  $1.50 

T250  Vol.  II,  Paperbound  $1.50 

TRAGIC  SENSE  OF  LIFE,  M.  de  Unamuno.  The  acknowledged  masterpiece  of  one  of  Spain's 
most  influential  thinkers.  Between  the  despair  at  the  inevitable  death  of  man  and  all  his 
works,  and  the  desire  for  immortality,  Unamuno  finds  a  "saving  incertitude."  Called  "a 
masterpiece,"    by    the    ENCYCLOPAEDIA    BRITANNICA.    xxx    -f    332pp.    53/8    x    8. 

T257  Paperbound  $1.95 

EXPERIENCE  AND  NATURE,  John  Dewey.  The  enlarged,  revised  edition  of  the  Paul  Carus 
lectures  (1925).  One  of  Dewey's  clearest  presentations  of  the  philosophy  of  empirical  natural- 
ism which  reestablishes  the  continuity  between  "inner"  experience  and  "outer"  nature. 
These  lectures  are  among  the  most  significant  ever  delivered  by  an  American  philosopher. 
457pp.  53/8  X  8.  T471   Paperbound   $1.85 

PHILOSOPHY  AND  CIVILIZATION  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES,  M.  de  Wulf.  A  semi-popular  survey  of 
medieval  intellectual  life,  religion,  philosophy,  science,  the  arts,  etc.  that  covers  feudalism 
vs.  Catholicism,  rise  of  the  universities,  mendicant  orders,  and  similar  topics.  Bibliography, 
viii    -f   320pp.  53/8  X  8.  T284  Paperbound   $1.75 

AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  SCHOLASTIC  PHILOSOPHY,  M.  de  Wulf.  (Formerly,  "Scholasticism  Old 
and  New.")  Prof,  de  Wulf  covers  the  central  scholastic  tradition  from  St.  Anselm,  Albertus 
Magnus,  Thomas  Aquinas,  up  to  Suarez  in  the  17th  century;  and  then  treats  the  modern 
revival  of.  scholasticism,  the  Louvain  position,  relations  with  Kantianism  and  positivism, 
etc.  xvi   -I-  271pp.  53/8  x  8.  T296  Clothbound  $3.50 

T283  Paperbound  $1.75 

A  HISTORY  OF  MODERN  PHILOSOPHY,  H.  Hdffding.  An  exceptionally  clear  and  detailed  coverage 
of  Western  philosophy  from  the  Renaissance  to  the  end  of  the  19th  century.  Both  major 
and  minor  figures  are  examined  in  terms  of  theory  of  knowledge,  logic,  cosmology,  psychology. 
Covers  Pomponazzi,  Bodin,  Boehme,  Telesius,  Bruno,  Copernicus,  Descartes,  Spinoza,  Hobbes, 
Locke,  Hume,  Kant,  Fichte,  Schopenhauer,  Mill,  Spencer,  Langer,  scores  of  others.  A  standard 
reference  work.  2  volumes.  Total  of  1159pp.  5%  x  8.  T117  Vol.  1,  Paperbound  $2.00 

T118  Vol.  2,  Paperbound  $2.00 

LANGUAGE,  TRUTH  AND  LOGIC,  A.  J.  Ayer.  The  first  full-length  development  of  Logical 
Posivitism  in  English.  Building  on  the  work  of  Schlick,  Russell,  Carnap,  and  the  Vienna 
school,  Ayer  presents  the  tenets  of  one  of  the  most  important  systems  of  modern  philosoph- 
ical thought.  160pp.  53/8  X  8.  TIO  Paperbound  $1.25 


CATALOG  OF 
ORIENTALIA  AND  RELIGION 

THE  MYSTERIES  OF  MITHRA,  F.  Cumont.  The  great  Belgian  scholar's  definitive  study  of  the 
Persian  mystery  religion  that  almost  vanquished  Christianity  in  the  ideological  struggle  for 
the  Roman  Empire.  A  masterpiece  of  scholarly  detection  that  reconstructs  secret  doctrines, 
organization,  rites.  Mithraic  art  is  discussed  and  analyzed.   70   illus.   239pp.  SVs  x  8. 

T323    Paperbound   $1.85 

CHRISTIAN  AND  ORIENTAL  PHILOSOPHY  OF  ART.  A.  K.  Coomaraswamy.  The  late  art  historian 
and  orientalist  discusses  artistic  symbolism,  the  role  of  traditional  culture  in  enriching  art, 
medieval  art,  folklore,  philosophy  of  art,  other  similar  topics.  Bibliography.   148pp.  5%  x  8. 

T378   Paperbound   $1.25 

TRANSFORMATION  OF  NATURE  IN  ART,  A.  K.  Coomaraswamy.  A  basic  v\/ork  on  Asiatic  religious 
art.  Includes  discussions  of  religious  art  in  Asia  and  Medieval  Europe  (exemplified  by 
Meister  Eckhart),  the  origin  and  use  of  images  in  Indian  art,  Indian  Medieval  aesthetic 
manuals,  and  other  fascinating,  little  known  topics.  Glossaries  of  Sanskrit  and  Chinese 
terms.  Bibliography.  41pp.  of  notes.  245pp.  53/8  x  8.  T368  Paperbound  $1.75 

ORIENTAL  RELIGIONS  IN  ROMAN  PAGANISM,  F.  Cumont.  This  well-known  study  treats  the 
ecstatic  cults  of  Syria  and  Phrygia  (Cybele,  Attis,  Adonis,  their  orgies  and  mutilatory  rites); 
the  mysteries  of  Egypt  (Serapis,  Isis,  Osiris);  Persian  dualism;  Mithraic  cults;  Hermes 
Trismegistus,  Ishtar,  Astarte,  etc.  and  their  influence  on  the  religious  thought  of  the  Roman 
Empire.    Introduction.  55pp.  of  notes;   extensive  bibliography,  xxiv    +   298pp.   b^/a   x  8. 

T321   Paperbound   $1.75 

ANTHROPOLOGY,  SOCIOLOGY,  AND  PSYCHOLOGY 

PRIMITIVE  MAN  AS  PHILOSOPHER,  P.  Radln.  A  standard  anthropological  work  based  on 
Radin's  investigations  of  the  Winnebago,  Maori,  Batak,  Zuni,  other  primitive  tribes.  Describes 
primitive  thought  on  the  purpose  of  life,  marital  relations,  death,  personality,  gods,  etc. 
Extensive  selections  of  6riginal  primitive  documents.  Bibliography,  xviii   +   420pp.  5%  x  8. 

T392   Paperbound   $2.00 

PRIMITIVE  RELIGION,  P.  Radln.  Radin's  thoroughgoing  treatment  of  supernatural  beliefs, 
shamanism,  initiations,  religious  expression,  etc.  in  primitive  societies.  Arunta,  Ashanti, 
Aztec,  Bushman,  Crow,  Fijian,  many  other  tribes  examined.  "Excellent,"  NATURE.  New 
preface  by  the  author.  Bibliographic  notes,  x  +  322pp.  53/8  x  8.        T393  Paperbound  $1.85 

SEX  IN  PSYCHO-ANALYSIS,  S.  Ferenczl.  (Formerly,  "Contributions  to  Psycho-analysis.")  14 
selected  papers  on  impotence,  transference,  analysis  and  children,  dreams,  obscene  words, 
homosexuality,  paranoia,  etc.  by  an  associate  of  Freud.  Also  included:  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF 
PSYCHO-ANALYSIS,  by  Ferenczi  and  Otto  Rank.  Two  books  bound  as  one.  Total  of  406pp. 
53/fe  X  8.  T324  Paperbound  $1.85 

THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  PSYCHOLOGY,  William  James.  The  complete  text  of  the  famous  "long 
course,"  one  of  the  great  books  of  Western  thought.  An  almost  incredible  amount  of  infor- 
mation about  psychological  processes,  the  stream  of  consciousness,  habit,  time  perception, 
memory,  emotions,  reason,  consciousness  of  self,  abnormal  phenomena,  and  similar  topics. 
Based  on  James's  own  discoveries  integrated  with  the  work  of  Descartes,  Locke,  Hume, 
Royce,    Wundt,    Berkeley,    Lotse,    Herbart,    scores    of    others.    "A   classic    of    interpretation," 

/PSYCHIATRIC   QUARTERLY.  94   illus.    1408pp.   2  volumes.   53/8   x   8. 

'  T381  Vol.   1,   Paperbound  $2.50 

T382  Vol.  2,  Paperbound  $2.50 

THE  POLISH  PEASANT  IN  EUROPE  AND  AMERICA,  W.  I.  Thomas,  F.  Znanieckl.  Monumental 
sociological  study  of  peasant  primary  groups  (family  and  community)  and  the  disruptions 
produced  by -a  new  industrial  system  and  emigVation  to  America,  by  two  of  the  foremost 
sociologists  of  recent  times.  One  of  the  most  important  works  in  sociological  thought. 
Includes  hundreds  of  pages  of  primary  documentation;  point  by  point  analysis  of  causes 
of  social  decay,  breakdown  of  morality,  crime,  drunkenness,  prostitution,  etc.  2nd  revised 
edition.  2  volumes.  Total  of  2250pp.  6x9.  T478  2  volume  set,  Clothbound  $12.50 

FOLKWAYS,  W.  G.  Sumner.  The  great  Yale  sociologist's  detailed  exposition  of  thousands  of 
social,  sexual,  and  religious  customs  in  hundreds  of  cultures  from  ancient  Greece  to  Modern 
Western  societies.  Preface  by  A.  G.  Keller.  Introduction  by  William  Lyon  Phelps.  705pp. 
5%  X  8.  S508  Paperbound  $2.49 

BEYOND  PSYCHOLOGY,  Otto  Rank.  The  author,  an  early  associate  of  Freud,  uses  psychoanalytic 
techniques  of  myth-analysis  to  explore  ultimates  of  human  existence.  Treats  love,  immor- 
tality, the  soul,  sexual  identity,  kingship,  sources  of  state  power,  many  other  topics  which 
illuminate  the  irrational  basis  of  human  existence.  291pp.  53/8  x  8.         T485  Paperbound  $1.75 

ILLUSIONS  AND  DELUSIONS  OF  THE  SUPERNATURAL  AND  THE  OCCULT,  D.  H.  Rawcliffe.  A  ra- 
tional, scientific  examination  of  crystal  gazing,  automatic  writing,  table  turning,  stigmata, 
the  Indian  rope  trick,  dowsing,  telepathy,  clairvoyance,  ghosts,  ESP,  PK,  thousands  of  other 
supposedly  occult  phenomena.  Originally  titled  "The  Psychology  of  the  Occult."  14  illustra- 
tions.  551pp.   5%   X  8.  T503   Paperbound   $2.00 


DOVER  BOOKS 

YOGA:  A  SCIENTIFIC  EVALUATION,  Kovoor  T.  Behanan.  A  scientific  study  of  the  physiological 
and  psychological  effects  of  Yoga  discipline,  written  under  the  auspices  of  the  Yale  Uni- 
versity Institute  of  Human  Relations.  Foreword  by  W.  A.  Miles,  Yale  Univ.  17  photographs. 
290pp.   53/8   X  8.  T505   Paperbound   $1.65 

HOAXES,  0.  D.  MacDougall.  Delightful,  entertaining,  yet  scholarly  exposition  of  how  hoaxes 
start,  why  they  succeed,  documented  with  stories  of  hundreds  of  the  most  famous  hoaxes. 
"A  stupendous  collection  .  .  .  and  shrewd  analysis,  "NEW  YORKER.  New,  revised  edition. 
54   photographs.   320pp.   53/8   x  8.  T465   Paperbound   $1.75 

CREATIVE  POWER:  THE  EDUCATION  OF  YOUTH  IN  THE  CREATIVE  ARTS,  Hughes  Mearns.  Named 
by  the  National  Education  Association  as  one  of  the  20  foremost  books  on  education  in 
recent  times.  Tells  how  to  help  children  express  themselves  in  drama,  poetry,  music,  art, 
develop  latent  creative  power.  Should  be  read  by  every  parent,  teacher.  New,  enlarged, 
revised  edition.  Introduction.  272pp.  53/8  x  8.  T490  Paperbound  $1.50 


LANGUAGES 

NEW  RUSSIAN-ENGLISH,  ENGLISH-RUSSIAN  DICTIONARY,  M.  A.  O'Brien.  Over  70,000  entries   in 
new  orthography!   Idiomatic  usages,  colloquialisms.  One  of  the  few  dictionaries  that  indicate 
accent   changes   in   conjugation   and    declension.    "One   of   the   best,"    Prof.    E.   J.    Simmons, 
Cornell.  First  names,  geographical  terms,  bibliography,  many  other  features.  738pp.  4V2  x  6V4. 

T208   Paperbound  $2.00 

MONEY  CONVERTER  AND  TIPPING  GUIDE  FOR  EUROPEAN  TRAVEL,  C.  Vomacka.  Invaluable,  handy 
source  of  currency  regulations,  conversion  tables,  tipping  rules,  postal  rates,  much  other 
travel  information  for  every  European  country  plus  Israel,  Egypt  and  Turkey.  128pp.  3V2  x  5V4. 

T260  Paperbound  60( 

MONEY  CONVERTER  AND  TIPPING  GUIDE  FOR  TRAVEL  IN  THE  AMERICAS  (including  the  United 
States  and  Canada),  C.  Vomacka.  The  information  you  need  for  informed  and  confident  travel 
In  the  Americas:  money  conversion  tables,  tipping  guide,  postal,  telephone  rates,  etc. 
128pp.  3V2  X  51/4.  T261   Paperbound  650 

DUTCH-ENGLISH,  ENGLISH-DUTCH  DICTIONARY,  F.  G.  Renler.  The  most  convenient,  practical 
Dutch-English  dictionary  on  the  market.  New  orthography.  More  than  60,000  entries:  idiom*, 
compounds,   technical    terms,    etc.    Gender   of    nouns    indicated,    xviii    -f    571pp.    5V2    x    6V4. 

T224   Clothbound   $2.50 

LEARN  DUTCH!,  F.  G.  Renler.  The  most  satisfactory  and  easily-used  grammar  of  modern 
Dutch.  Used  and  recommended  by  the  Fuibright  Committee  in  the  Netherlands.  Over  1200 
simple  exercises  lead  to  mastery  of  spoken  and  written  Dutch.  Dutch-English,  English-Dutch 
vocabularies.   181pp.  4V4   x  71/4.  T441   Clothbound   $1.75 

PHRASE  AND  SENTENCE  DICTIONARY  OF  SPOKEN  RUSSIAN,  English-Russian,  Russian-English. 
Based  on  phrases  and  complete  sentences,  rather  than  isolated  words;  recognized  as  one  of 
the  best  methods  of  learning  the  idiomatic  speech  of  a  country.  Over  11,500  entries,  indexed 
by  single  words,  with  more  than  32,000  English  and  Russian  sentences  and  phrases,  in  imme- 
diately usable  form.  Probably  the  largest  list  ever  published.  Shows  accent  changes  in  con- 
jugation and  declension;  irregular  forms  listed  in  both  alphabetical  place  and  under  main 
form  of  word.  15,000  word  introduction  covering  Russian  sounds,  writing,  grammar,  syntax. 
15 -page  appendix  of  geographical  names,  money,  important  signs,  given  names,  foods, 
special  Soviet  terms,  etc.  Travellers,  businessmen,  students,  government  employees  have 
found  this  their  best  source  for  Russian  expressions.  Originally  published  as  U.S.  Government 
Technical   Manual   TM  30-944.   iv    +   573pp.  55/8   x  83/8.  T496   Paperbound  $2.75 

PHRASE  AND  SENTENCE  DICTIONARY  OF  SPOKEN  SPANISH,  Spanish-English,  English-Spanish. 
Compiled  from  spoken  Spanish,  emphasizing  idiom  and  colloquial  usage  in  both  Castilian  and 
Latin-American.  More  than  16,000  entries  containing  over  25,000  idioms — the  largest  list  of 
idiomatic  constructions  ever  published.  Complete  sentences  given,  indexed  under  single  words 
— language  in  immediately  usable  form,  for  travellers,  businessmen,  students,  etc.  25-page 
Introduction  provides  rapid  survey  of  sounds,  grammar,  syntax,  with  full  consideration  of  irreg- 
ular verbs.  Especially  apt  in  modern  treatment  of  phrases  and  structure.  17-page  glossary 
gives  translations  of  geographical  names,  money  values,  numbers,  national  holidays,  important 
street  signs,  useful  expressions  of  high  frequency,  plus  unique  7-page  glossary  of  Spanish  and 
Spanish-American  foods  and  dishes.  Originally  published  as  U.S.  Government  Technical  Man- 
ual TM  30-900.  iv   +  513pp.  55/8  x  83/8.  T495  Paperbound  $1.75 


CATALOG  OF 

SAY  IT  language  phrase  books 

"SAY  IT"  in  the  foreign  language  of  your  choice!  We  have  sold  over  Vz  million  copies  of  these 
popular,  useful  language  books.  They  will  not  make  you  an  expert  linguist  overnight,  but  they 
do   cover  most  practical    matters  of   everyday   life  abroad. 

Over  1000  useful  phrases,  expressions,  with  additional   variants,  substitutions. 

Modern!  Useful!  Hundreds  of  phrases  not  available  in  other  texts:  "Nylon,"  "air-condi- 
tioned," etc. 

The  ONLY  inexpensive  phrase  book  completely  indexed.  Everything  is  available  at  a  flip 
of  your  finger,  ready  for  use. 

Prepared  by  na.tlve  linguists,  travel  experts. 

Based  on  years  of  travel  experience  abroad. 

This  handy  phrase  book  may  be  used  by  itself,  or  it  may  supplement  any  other  text  or 
course;  it  provides  a  living  element.  Used  by  many  colleges  and  institutions:  Hunter  College; 
Barnard   College;   Army   Ordnance   School,   Aberdeen;    and   many   others. 

Available,  1  book  per  language: 

Danish  (T818)   75(J  Italian  (T806)  60C 

Dutch  T(817)  75C  Japanese  (T807)  60C 

English  (for  German-speaking  people)  {T801)  60C                                       Norwegian  (T814)  75C 

English  (for   Italian-speaking  people)  (T816)  60C                                           Russian  (T810)  75(J 

English  (for  Spanish-speaking  people)  (T802)  60C  Spanish  (T811)  60C 

Esperanto  (T820)  750  Turkish  (T821)  750 

French  (T803)  6O0  Yiddish  (T815)  750 

German  (T804)  6O0  Swedish  (T812)  750 

Modern  Greek  (T813)  750  ''""'S''  (TSOS)  750 

Hebrew  (T805)  6O0  Portuguese  (T809)  750 


LISTEN  &  LEARN  language  record  sets 

LISTEN  &  LEARN  is  the  only  language  record  course  designed  especially  to  meet  your  travel 
needs,  or  help  you  learn  essential  foreign  language  quickly  by  yourself,  or  in  conjunction  with 
any  school  course,  by  means  of  the  automatic  association  method.  Each  set  contains  three 
331/3  rpm  long-  playing  records  —  IV2  hours  of  recorded  speech  by  eminent  native 
speakers  who  are  professors  at  Columbia,  N.Y.U.,  Queens  College  and  other  leading  univer- 
sities. The  sets  are  priced  far  below  other  sets  of  similar  quality,  yet  they  contain  many 
special  features  not  found  in  other  record  sets: 

*  Over  800  selected  phrases  and  sentences,  a  basic  vocabulary  of  over  3200  words. 

*  Both  English  and  foreign  language  recorded;  with  a  pause  for  your  repetition. 

*  Designed   for   persons   with    limited   time;    no   time  wasted   on   material   you   cannot  use 
immediately. 

*  Living,  modern  expressions  that  answer  modern  needs:  drugstore  items,  "air-conditioned," 
etc. 

>      *  128-196    page    manuals    contain    everything    on    the    records,    plus    simple    pronunciation 
guides. 

*  Manual  is  fully  indexed;  find  the  phrase  you  want  instantly. 

*  High  fidelity  recording — equal  to  any  records  costing  up  to  $6  each. 

The  phrases  on  these  records  cover  41  different  categories  useful  to  the  traveller  or  student 
interested  in  learning  the  living,  spoken  language:  greetings,  introductions,  making  yourself 
understood,  passing  customs,  planes,  trains,  boats,  buses,  taxis,  nightclubs,  restaurants, 
menu  items,  sports,  concerts,  cameras,  automobile  travel,  repairs,  drugstores,  doctors, 
dentists,   medicines,   barber  shops,,  beauty  parlors,   laundries,   many,   many  more. 

"Excellent  .  .  .  among  the  very  best  on  the  market,"  Prof.  Mario  Pel,  Dept.  of  Romance 
Languages,  Columbia  University.  "Inexpensive  and  well-done  ...  an  ideal  present," 
CHICAGO  SUNDAY  TRIBUNE.  "More  genuinely  helpful  than  anything  of  its  kind  which  I  have 
previously  encountered,"  Sidney  Clark,  well-known  author  of  "ALL  THE  BEST"  travel  books. 
Each     set     contains  3       SSVa   rpm      pure     vinyl     records,    128-  196  page  with  full 

record  text,  and  album.  One  language  per  set.  LISTEN  &  LEARN  record  sets  are  now  avail- 
able in — 

FRENCH  the  set  $4.95  GERMAN  the  set  $4.95 

ITALIAN  the  set  $4.95  SPANISH  the  set  $4.95 

RUSSIAN  the  set  $5.95  JAPANESE  *  the  set  $5.95 

*  Available  Sept.  1,  1959 

UNCONDITIONAL  GUARANTEE:  Dover  Publications  stands  behind  every  Listen  and  Learn  record 
set.  If  you  are  dissatisfied  with  these  sets  for  any  reason  whatever,  return  them  within 
10  days  and  your  money  will  be  refunded  in  full. 


DOVER  BOOKS 

ART  HISTORY 

STICKS  AND  STONES,  Lewis  Mumford.  An  examination  of  forces  influencing  American  archi- 
tecture: the  medieval  tradition  In  early  New  England,  the  classical  influence  in  Jefferson's 
time,  the  Brown  Decades,  the  imperial  facade,  the  machine  age,  etc.  "A  truly  remarkable 
book,"   SAT.   REV.    OF    LITERATURE.    2nd    revised   edition.    21    illus.   xvil    +    228pp.    53/8  x   8. 

T202   Paperbouitd   $1.60 

THE   AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF   AN  IDEA,   Louis  Sullivan.   The   architect   whom   Frank    Lloyd   Wright 

called   "the  master,"   records  the  development  of  the  theories  that  revolutionized   America's 

skyline.    34   full-page    plates  of    Sullivan's    finest    work.    New    introduction    by    R.  M.    Line, 

xiv  +  335pp.  53/8  X  8.  T281   Paperbound  $1.85 

THE  {MATERIALS  AND  TECHNIQUES  OF  MEDIEVAL  PAINTING,  D.  V.  Thompson.  An  invaluable 
study  of  carriers  and  grounds,  binding  media,  pigments,  metals  used  in  painting,  al  fresco 
and  al  secco  techniques,  burnishing,  etc.  used  by  the  medieval  masters.  Preface  by  Bernard 
Berenson.  239pp.  53/8  x  8.  T327   Paperbound  $1.85 

PRINCIPLES  OF  ART  HISTORY,  H.  Wolfflin.  This  remarkably  instructive  work  demonstrates  the 
tremendous  change  in  artistic  conception  from  the  14th  to  the  18th  centuries,  by  analyzing 
164  works  by  Botticelli,  Dijrer,  Hobbema,  Holbein,  Hals,  Titian,  Rembrandt,  Vermeer,  etc., 
and  pointing  out  exactly  what  is  meant  by  "baroque,"  "classic,"  "primitive,"  "picturesque," 
and  other  basic  terms  of  art  history  and  criticism.  "A  remarkable  lesson  in  the  art  of 
seeing,"  SAT.  REV.  OF  LITERATURE.  Translated  from  the  7th  German  edition.  150  illus. 
254pp.  6V8  X  91/4.  T276  Paperbound  $2.00 

FOUNDATIONS  OF  MODERN  ART,  A.  Ozenfant.  Stimulating  discussion  of  human  creativity  from 
paleolithic  cave  painting  to  modern  painting,  architecture,  decorative  arts.  Fully  illustrated 
with  works  of  Gris,  Lipchitz,  Le'ger,  Picasso,  primitive,  modern  artifacts,  architecture,  indus- 
trial art,  much  more.  226  illustrations.  368pp.  6Va  x  9V4.  T215  Paperbound  $1.95 

HANf)ICRAFTS,  APPLIED  ART,  ART  SOURCES,  ETC. 

WILD  FOWL  DECOYS,  J.  Barber.  The  standard  work  on  this  fascinating  branch  of  folk  art, 
ranging  from  Indian  mud  and  grass  devices  to  realistic  wooden  decoys.  Discusses  styles, 
types,  periods;  gives  full  information  on  how  to  make  decoys.  140  illustrations  (including 
14  new  plates)  show  decoys  and  provide  full  sets  of  plans  for  handicrafters,  artists,  hunters, 
and  students  of  folk  art.  281pp.   7%   x   103/4.   Deluxe   edition.  Til   Clothbound   $8.50 

METALWORK  AND  ENAMELLING,  H.  Maryon.  Probably  the  best  book  ever  written  on  the 
subject.  Tells  everything  necessary  for  the  home  manufacture  of  jewelry,  rings,  ear 
pendants,  bowls,  etc.  Covers  materials,  tools,  soldering,  filigree,  setting  stones,  raising 
patterns,  repouss6  wprk,  damascening,  niello,  cloisonne,  polishing,  assaying,  casting,  and 
dozens  of  other  techniques.  The  best  substitute  for  apprenticeship  to  a  master  metalworker. 
363  photos  and  figures.  374pp.  51/2  x  81/2.  T183  Clothbound  $7.50 

SHAKER  FURNITURE,  E.  D.  and  F.  Andrews.  The  most  illuminating  study  of  Shaker  furniture 
ever  written.  Covers  chronology,  craftsmanship,  houses,  shops,  etc.  Includes  over  200 
photographs  of  chairs,  tables,  clocks,  beds,  benches,  etc.  "Mr.  &  Mrs.  Andrews  know  all 
there  is  to  know  about  Shaker  furniture,"  Mark  Van  Doren,  NATION.  48  full-page  plates. 
192pp.   Deluxe  cloth   binding.   7%   x   103/4.  T7   Clothbound   $6.00 

PRIMITIVE  ART,  Franz  Boas.  A  great  American  anthropologist  covers  theory,  technical  vir- 
tuosity, styles,  symbolism,  patterns,  etc.  of  primitive  art.  The  more  than  900  illustrations 
will    interest   artists,    designers,    craftworkers.    Over    900    illustrations.    376pp.    53/8    x   8. 

T25  Paperbound  $1.95 

ON  THE  LAWS  OF  JAPANESE  PAINTING)  H.  Bowie.  The  best  possible  substitute  for  lessons 
from  an  oriental  master.  Treats  both  spirit  and  technique;  exercises  for  control  of  the 
brush;  inks,  brushes,  colors;  use  of  dots,  lines  to  express  whole  moods,  etc.  220  illus. 
132pp.  6V8  x  91/4.  T30  Paperbound  $1.95 

HANDBOOK  OF  ORNAMENT,  F.  S.  Meyer.  One  of  the  largest  collections  of  copyright-free  tradi- 
tional art:  over  3300  line  cuts  of  Greek,  Roman,  Medieval,  Renaissance,  Baroque,  18th  and 
19th  century  art  motifs  (tracery,  geometric  elements,  flower  and  animal  motifs,  etc.)  and 
decorated  objects  (chairs,  thrones,  weapons,  vases,  jewelry,  armor,  etc.).  Full  text.  3300 
illustrations.  562pp.  53/8  x  8.  T302  Paperbound  $2.00 

THREE  CLASSICS  OF  ITALIAN  CALLIGRAPHY.  Oscar  Ogg,  ed.  Exact  reproductions  of  three 
famous  Renaissance  calligraphic  works:  Arrighi's  OPERINA  and  IL  MODO,  Tagliente's  LO 
PRESENTE  LIBRO,  and  Palatino's  LIBRO  NUOVO.  More  than  200  complete  alphabets,  thousands 
of  lettered  specimens,  in  Papal  Chancery  and  other  beautiful,  ornate  handwriting.  Intro- 
duction. 245  plates.  282pp.  61/8  x  9V4.  T212  Paperbound  $1.95 

THE  HISTORY  AND  TECHNIQUES  OF  LETTERING,  A.  Nesbitt.  A  thorough  history  of  lettering 
from  the  ancient  Egyptians  to  the  present,  and  a  65-page  course  in  lettering  for  artists. 
Every  major  development  in  lettering  history  is  illustrated  by  a  complete  alphabet.  Fully 
analyzes  such  masters  as  Caslon,  Koch,  Garamont,  Jenson,  and  many  more.  89  alphabets,  165 
other  specimens.  317pp.  53/3  x  8.  T427  Paperbound  $2.00 


CATALOG  OF 

LETTERING  AND  ALPHABETS,  J.  A.  Cavanagh.  An  unabridged  reissue  of  "Lettering,"  containing 
the  full  discussion,  analysis,  illustration  of  89  basic  hand  lettering  tyles  based  on  Caslon, 
Bodoni,  Gothic,  many  other  types.  Hundreds  of  technical  hints  on  construction,  strokes, 
pens,  brushes,  etc.  89  alphabets,  72  lettered  specimens,  which  may  be  reproduced  permission- 
free.   121pp.  93/4  X  8.  T53  Paperbound  $1.25 

THE  HUMAN  FIGURE  IN  MOTION,  Eadweard  Muybrldge.  The  largest  collection  in  print  of 
Muybridge's  famous  high-speed  action  photos.  4789  photographs  in  more  than  500  action- 
strip-sequences  (at  shutter  speeds  up  to  L  6000th  of  a  second)  illustrate  men,  women, 
children — mostly  undraped — performing  such  actions  as  walking,  running,  getting  up,  lying 
down,  carrying  objects,  throwing,  etc.  "An  unparalleled  dictionary  of  action  for  all  artists," 
AMERICAN  ARTIST.  390  full-page  plates,  with  4789  photographs.  Heavy  glossy  stock,  reinforced 
binding  with   headbands.    7%  x  10%.  T204  Clothbound   $10.00 

ANIMALS  IN  MOTION,  Eadweard  MuybrJdge.  The  largest  collection  of  animal  action  photos 
in  print.  34  different  animals  (horses,  mules,  oxen,  goats,  camels,  pigs,  cats,  lions,  gnus, 
deer,  monkeys,  eagles— and  22  others)  in  132  characteristic  actions.  All  3919  photographs 
are  taken  in  series  at  speeds  up  to  l/1600th  of  a  second,  offering  artists,  biologists,  car- 
toonists a  remarkable  opportunity  to  see  exactly  how  an  ostrich's  head  bobs  when  running, 
how  a  lion  puts  his  foot  down,  how  an  elephant's  knee  bends,  how  a  bird  flaps  his  wings, 
thousands  of  other  hard-to-catch  details.  "A  really  marvelous  series  of  plates,"  NATURE. 
380  full-pages  of  plates.  Heavy  glossy  stock,  reinforced  binding  with  headbands.  7%  xlOVa. 

T203   Clothbound   $10.00 

THE  BOOK  OF  SIGNS,  R.  Koch.  493  symbols — crosses,  monograms,  astrological,  biological 
symbols,  runes,  etc. — from  ancient  manuscripts,  cathedrals,  coins,  catacombs,  pottery.  May 
be  reproduced  permission-free.  493  illustrations  by  Fritz  Kredel.   104pp.   eVs  x  9V4. 

T162  Paperbound  $1.00 

A  HANDBOOK  OF  EARLY  ADVERTISING  ART,  C.  P.  Hornung.  The  largest  collection  of  copyright- 
free  early  advertising  art  ever  compiled.  Vol.  I:  2,000  Illustrations  of  animals,  old  automo- 
biles, buildings,  allegorical  figures,  fire  engines,  Indians,  ships,  trains,  more  than  33  other 
categories!  Vol  II:  Over  4,000  typographical  specimens;  600  Roman,  Gothic,  Barnum,  Old 
English  faces;  630  ornamental  type  faces;  hundreds  erf  scrolls,  initials,  flourishes,  etc.  "A 
remarkable   collection,"   PRINTERS'    INK. 

Vol.  I:  Pictorial  Volume.  Over  2000  illustrations.  256pp.  9  x  12.  T122  Clothbound  $10.00 
Vol.  II:  Typographical  Volume.  Over  4000  speciments.  319pp.  9  x  12.       T123  Clothbound  $10.00 

Two  volume  set,  Clothbound,  only  $18.50 

DESIGN  FOR  ARTISTS  AND  CRAFTSMEN,  L.  Wolchonok.  The  most  thorough  course  on  the 
creation  of  art  motifs  and  designs.  Shows  you  step-by-step,  with  hundreds  of  examples  and 
113  detailed  exercises,  how  to  create  original  designs  from  geometric  patterns,  plants, 
birds,  animals,  humans,  and  man-made  objects.  "A  great  contribution  to  the  field  of  design 
and  crafts,"  N.  Y.  SOCIETY  OF  CRAFTSMEN.  More  than  1300  entirely  new  illustrations. 
XV   +   207pp.  77/8  X  103/4.  T274  Clothbound  $4.95 

HANDBOOK  OF  DESIGNS  AND  DEVICES,  C.  P.  Hornung.  A  remarkable  working  collection  of 
1836  basic  design9»and  variations,  all  copyright-free.  Variations  of  circle,  line,  cross,  diamond, 
swastika,  star,  scroll,  shield,  many  more.  Notes  on  symbolism.  "A  necessity  to  every 
'designer  who  would  be  original  without  having  to  labor  heavily,"  ARTIST  and  ADVERTISER. 
204  plates.  240pp.  5%  x  8. 

T125  Paperbound  $1.90 

THE  UNIVERSAL  PENMAN,  George  BIckham.  Exact  reproduction  of  beautiful  18th  century 
book  of  handwriting.  22  complete  alphabets  In  finest  English  roundhand,  other  scripts,  over 
2000  elaborate  flourishes,  122  calligraphic  illustrations,  etc.  Material  is  copyright-free.  "An 
essential  part  of  any  art  library,  and  a  book  of  permanent  value,"  AMERICAN  ARTIST.  212 
plates.  224pp.  9  X  13%.  T20  Clothbound  $10.00 

AN  ATLAS  OF  ANATOMY  FOR  ARTISTS,  F.  Schlder.  This  standard  work  cont3<ns  189  full-page 
plates,  more  than  647  illustrations  of  all  aspects  of  the  human  skeleton,  musculature,  cutaway 
portions  of  the  body,  each  part  of  the  anatomy,  hand  forms,  eyelids,  breasts,  location  of 
muscles  under  the  flesh,  etc.  59  plates  illustrate  how  Michelangelo,  da  Vinci,  Goya,  15  others, 
drew  human  anatomy.  New  3rd  edition  enlarged  by  52  new  illustrations  by  Cloquet,  Barcsay. 
"The  standard  reference  tool,"  AMERICAN  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION.  "Excellent,"  AMERICAN 
ARTIST.  189  plates,  647  illustrations,   xxvi    -f    192pp.  7%  x  10%.         T241   Clothbound  $6.00 

AN  ATLAS  OF  ANIMAL  ANATOMY  FOR  ARTISTS,  W.  Ellenberger,  H.  Baum,  H.  Dittrlch.  The  largest, 
richest  animal  anatomy  for  artists  in  English.  Form,  musculature,  tendons,  bone  structure, 
expression,  detailed  cross  sections  of  head,  other  features,  of  the  horse,  lion,  dog,  cat,  deer, 
seal,  kangaroo,  cow,  bull,  goat,  monkey,  hare,  many  other  animals.  "Highly  recommended," 
DESIGN.  Second,  revised,  enlarged  edition  with  new  plates  from  Cuvier,  Stubbs,  etc.  288 
illustrations.  153pp.    11%   x  9.  T82   Clothbound   $6.00 

ANIMAL  DRAWING:  ANATOMY  AND  ACTION  FOR  ARTISTS,  C.  R.  Knight.  158  studies,  with  full 
accompanying  text,  of  such  animals  as  the  gorilla,  bear,  bison,  dromedary,  camel.  Vulture, 
pelican,  iguana,  shark,  etc.,  by  one  of  the  greatest  modern  masters  of  animal  drawing. 
Innumerable  tips  on  how  to  get  life  expression  into  your  work.  "An  excellent  reference 
work,'    SAN    FRANCISCO   CHRONICLE.    158    illustrations.    156pp.    IOV2    x   8V2. 

T426  Paperbound  $2.00 


DOVER  BOOKS 

THE  CRAFTSMAN'S  HANDBOOK,  Cennino  Cennini.  The  finest  English  translation  of  IL  LIBRO 
DELL'  ARTE,  the  15th  century  introdurtion  to  art  technique  that  Is  both  a  mirror  of  Quatro- 
cento  life  and  a  source  of  many  useful  but  -nearly  forgotten  facets  of  the  painter's  art. 
4  illustrations,  xxvii  +  142pp.  D.  V.  Thompson,  translator.  6V8  x  91/4.      T54  Paperbound  $1.50 

THE  BROWN  DECADES,  Lewis  Mumford.  A  picture  of  the  "burled  renaissance"  of  the  post- 
Civil  War  period,  and  the  founding  of  modern  architecture  (Sullivan,  Richardson,  Root, 
Roebling),  landscape  development  (Marsh,  Olmstead,  Eliot),  and  the  graphic  arts  (Homer, 
Eakins,  Ryder).  2nd  revised,  enlarged  edition.  Bibliography.  12  illustrations,  xiv  +  266  pp. 
5%  X  8.  T200  Paperbound  $1.65 

STIEGEL  GLASS,  F.  W.  Hunter.  The  story  of  the  most  highly  esteemed  early  American  glass- 
ware, fully  Illustrated.  How  a  German  adventurer,  "Baron"  Stiegel,  founded  a  glass  empire; 
detailed  accounts  of  individual  glasswork.  "This  pioneer  work  Is  reprinted  in  an  edition 
even  more  beautiful  than  the  original!,"  ANTIQUES  DEALER.  New  Introduction  by  Helen 
McKearin.  171  illustrations,  12  in  full  color,  xxii   +   338pp.  77/8  x  10%. 

T128  Clothbound  $10.00 

THE  HUMAN  FIGURE,  J.  H.  Vanderpoel.  Not  just  a  picture  book,  but  a  complete  course  by  a 
famous  figure  artist.  Extensive  text,  illustrated  by  430  pencil  and  charcoal  drawings  of 
both  male  and  female  anatomy.  2nd  enlarged  edition.  Foreword.  430  illus.  143pp.  6V8  x  91/4. 

T432  Paperbound  $1.45 

PINE  FURNITURE  OF  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND,  R.  H.  Kettell.  Over  400  illustrations,  over  50 
working  drawings  of  early  New  England  chairs,  benches,  beds  cupboards,  mirrors,  shelves, 
tables,  other  furniture  esteemed  for  simple  beauty  and  character.  "Rich  store  of  illustra- 
tions .  .  .  emphasizes  the  individuality  and  varied  design,"  ANTIQUES.  413  illustrations, 
55  working  drawings.  475pp.  8  x  103/4.  T145  Clothbound  $10.00 

BASIC  BOOKBINDING,  A.  W.  Lewis.  Enables  both  beginners  and  experts  to  rebind  old  books 
or  bind  paperbacks  in  hard  covers.  Treats  materials,  tools;  gives  step-by-step  instruction  in 
how  to  collate  a  book,  sew  it,  back  it,  make  boards,  etc.  261  illus.  Appendices.  155pp. 
5%  X  8.  T169  Paperbound  $1.35 

DESIGN  MOTIFS  OF  ANCIENT  MEXICO,  J.  Enciso.  Nearly  90%  of  these  766  superb  designs  from 
Aztec,  Olmec,  Totonac,  Maya,  and  Toltec  origins  are  unobtainable  elsewhere!  Contains 
plumed  serpents,  wind  gods,  animals,  demons,  dancers,  monsters,  etc.  Excellent  applied 
design  source.  Originally  $17.50.  766  illustrations,  thousands  of  motifs.  192pp.  eVa  x  9V4. 

T84  Paperbound   $1.85 

AFRICAN  SCULPTURE,  Ladislas  Segy.  163  full-page  plates  illustrating  masks,  fertility  figures, 
ceremonial  objects,  etc.,  of  50  West  and  Central  African  tribes — 95%  never  before  illustrated. 
34-page  introduction  to  African  sculpture.  "Mr.  Segy  is  one  of  its  top  authorities,"  NEW 
YORKER.    164  full-page   photographic   plates.    Introduction.    Bibliography.   244pp.  SVa   x  91/4. 

T396  Paperbound  $2.00 

THE  PROCESSES  OF  GRAPHIC  REPRODUCTION  IN  PRINTING,  H.  Curwen.  A  thorough  and  prac- 
tical survey  of  wood,  linoleum,  and  rubber  engraving;  copper  engraving;  drypoint,  mezzotint, 
etching,  aquatint,  steel  engraving,  die  sinking,  stencilling,  lithography  (extensively);  photo- 
graphic reproduction  utilizing  line,  continuous  tone,  photoengravure,  collotype;  every  other 
process  in  general  use.  Note  on  color  reproduction.  Section  on  bookbinding.  Over  200  illustra- 
tions, 25  In  color.  143pp.  Wz  x  Wz.  T512  Clothbound  $4.00 

CALLIGRAPHY,  J.  G.  Schwandner.  First  reprinting  in  200  years  of  this  legendary  book  of 
beautiful  handwriting.  Over  300  ornamental  initials,  12  complete  calligraphic  alphabets,  over 
150  ornate  frames  and  panels,  75  calligraphic  pictures  of  cherubs,  stags,  lions,  etc.,  thou- 
sands of  flourishes,  scrolls,  etc.,  by  the  greatest  18th  century  masters.  All  material  can  be 
copied  or  adapted  without  permission.  Historical  introduction.  158  full-page  plates.  368pp. 
9  X  13.  T475  Clothbound  $10.00 

*  Hf     * 

A  DIDEROT  PICTORIAL  ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  TRADES  AND  INDUSTRY,  Manufacturing  and  the 
Technical  Arts  in  Plates  Selected  from  "L'Encyclopedie  ou  Dictionnaire  Raisonn§  des  Sciences, 
des  Arts,  et  des  M6tiers,"  of  Denis  Diderot,  edited  with  text  by  C.  Gill  is  pie.  Over  2000 
illustrations  on  485  full-page  plates.  Magnificent  18th  century  engravings  of  men,  women, 
and  children  working  at  such  trades  as  milling  flour,  cheesemaking,  charcoal  burning,  mining, 
silverplating,  shoeing  horses,  making  fine  glass,  printing,  hundreds  more,  showing  details 
of  machinery,  different  stepsv  in  sequence,  etc.  A  remarkable  art  work,  but  also  tire  largest 
collection  of  working  figures  in  print,  copyright -free,  for  art  directors,  designers,  etc. 
Two  vols.  920pp.  9  X  12.  Heavy  library  cloth.  T421  Two  volume  set  $18.50 

*  *     * 

SILK  SCREEN  TECHNIQUES,  J.  Blegeleisen,  M.  Cohn.  A  practical  step-by-step  home  course  in 
one  of  the  most  versatile,  least  expensive  graphic  arts  processes.  How  to  build  an  inexpensive 
silk  screen,  prepare  stencils,  print,  achieve  special  textures,  use  color,  etc.  Every  step 
explained,   diagrammed.   149   illustrations,   8   in   color.   201pp.   6V8   x  91/4. 

T433   Paperbound  $1.45 


CATALOG  OF 
PUZZLES,  GAMES,  AND  ENTERTAINMENTS 

MATHEMATICS,  MAGIC  AND  MYSTERY,  Martin  Gardner.  Astonishing  feats  of  mind  reading, 
mystifying  "magic"  tricks,  are  often  based  on  mathematical  principles  anyone  can  learn. 
This  book  shows  you  how  to  perform  scores  of  tricks  with  cards,  dice,  coins,  knots,  numbers, 
etc.,  by  using  simple  principles  from  set  theory,  theory  of  numbers,  topology,  other  areas 
of  mathematics,  fascinating  in  themselves.  No  special  knowledge  required.  135  illus.  186pp. 
5%  X  8.  T335  Paperbound  $1.00 

MATHEMATICAL  PUZZLES  FOR  BEGINNERS  AND  ENTHUSIASTS,  G.  Mott-Smoth.  Test  your 
problem-solving  techniques  and  powers  of  inference  on  188  challenging,  amiising  puzzles 
based  on  algebra,  dissection  of  plane  figures,  permutations,  probabilities,  etc.  Appendix  of 
primes,   square   roots,   etc.    135   illus.  2nd   revised   edition.   248pp.   53/8   x   8. 

T198  Paperbound  $1.00 

LEARN  CHESS  FROM  THE  MASTERS,  F.  Reinfeld.  Play  10  games  against  Marshall,  Bronstein, 
Najdorf,  other  masters,  and  grade  yourself  on  each  move.  Detailed  annotations  reveal  prin- 
ciples of  play,  strategy,  etc.  as  you  proceed.  An  excellent  way  to  get  a  real  insight  into  the 
game.  Formerly  titled,  "Chess  by  Yourself."  91  diagrams,  vii   -f   144pp.  5%  x  8. 

T362  Paperbound  $1.00 

REINFELD  ON  THE  END  GAME  IN  CHESS,  F.  Reinfeld.  62  end  games  of  Alekhine,  Tarrasch, 
Morphy,  other  masters,  are  carefully  analyzed  with  emphasis  on  transition  from  middle 
game  to  end  play.  Tempo  moves,  queen  endings,  weak  squares,  other  basic  principles  clearly 
illustrated.  Excellent  for  understanding  why  some  moves  are  weak  or  incorrect,  how  to  avoid 
errors.  Formerly  titled,  "Practical  End-game  Play."  62  diagrams,  vi   +   177pp.  S^/e  x  8. 

T417  Paperbound  $1.25 

101  PUZZLES  IN  THOUGHT  AND  LOGIC,  C.  R.  Wylie,  Jr.  Brand  new  puzzles  you  need  no  special 
knowledge  to  solve!  Each  one  is  a  gem  of  ingenuity  that  will  really  challenge  your  problem- 
solving  technique.  Introduction  with  simplified  explanation  of  scientic  puzzle  solving.  128pp. 
5.%  X  8.  T167  Paperbound   $1.00 

THE  COMPLETE  NONSENSE  OF  EDWARD  LEAR.  The  only  complete  edition  of  this  master  of 
gentle  madness  at  a  popular  price.  The  Dong  with  the  Luminous  Nose,  The  Jumblies,  The 
Owl  and  the  Pussycat,  hundreds  of  other  bits  of  wonderful  nonsense.  214  limericks,  3  sets 
of  Nonsense  Botany,  5  Nonsense  Alphabets,  546  fantastic  drawings,  muth  more.  320pp. 
5%   X  8.  T167   Paperbound   $1.00 

28  SCIENCE  FICTION  STORIES  OF  H.  G.  WELLS.  Two  complete  novels,  "Men  Like  Gods"  and 
"Star  Begotten,"  plus  26  short  stories  by  the  master  science-fiction  writer  of  all  time. 
Stories  of  space,  time,  future  adventure  that  are  among  the  all-time  classics  of  science 
fiction.    928pp.      53/8   x  8.  T265   Clothbound   $3.95 

SEVEN  SCIENCE  FICTION  NOVELS,  H.  G.  Wells.  Unabridged  texts  of  "The  Time  Machine," 
"The  Island  of  Dr.  Moreau,"  "First  Men  in  the  Moon."  "The  Invisible  Man,"  "The  War 
of  the  Worlds,"  "The  Food  of  the  Gods,"  "In  the  Days  of  the  "Comet."  "One  will  have  to  go 
far  to  match  this  for  entertainment,  excitement,  and  sheer  pleasure,"  N.  Y.  TIMES.  1015pp. 
5%   x  8.  T264   Clothbound   $3.95 

MATHEMAGIC,  MAGIC  PUZZLES,  AND  GAMES  WITH  NUMBERS,  R.  V.  Heath.  More  than  60  new 
puzzles  and  stunts  based  on  number  properties:  multiplying  large  numbers  mentally,  finding 
the  date  of  any  day  in  the  year,  etc.   Edited  by  J.   S.   Meyer.   76   illus.   129pp.   5%  x  8. 

TUG  Paperbound  $1.00 

FIVE  ADVENTURE  NOVELS  OF  H.  RIDER  HAGGARD.  The  master  story-teller's  five  best  tales  of 
mystery  and  adventure  set  against  authentic  African  backgrounds:  "She,"  "King  Solomon's 
Mines,"    "Allan    Quatermain,"     "Allan's    Wife,"    "Maiwa's    Revenge."    821pp.    5%    x   8. 

T108  Clothbound  $3.95 

WIN  AT  CHECKERS,  M.  Hopper.  (Formerly  "Checkers.")  The  former  World's  Unrestricted 
Checker  Champion  gives  you  valuable  lessons  in  openings,  traps,  end  games,  ways  to  draw 
when  you  are  behind,  etc.  More  than  100  questions  and  answers  anticipate  your  problems. 
Appendix.  75    problems   diagrammed,    solved.    79   figures,    xi    +    107pp.    5%   x   8. 

T363  Paperbound  $1.00 

CRYPTOGRAPHY,  L.  D.  Smith.  Excellent  introductory  work  on  ciphers  and  their  solution, 
history  of  secret  writing,  techniques,  etc.  Appendices  on  Japanese  methods,  the  Baconian 
cipher,  frequency  tables.   Bibliography.  Over  150  problems,   solutions.   160pp.   5%  x  8. 

T247  Paperbound  $1.00 

CRYPTANALYSIS,  H.  F.  Gaines.  (Formerly,  "Elementary  Cryptanalysis.")  The  best  book  available 
on  cryptograms  and  how  to  solve  them.  Contains  all  major  techniques:  substitution,  transposi- 
tion, mixed  alphabets,  multafid,  Kasiski  and  Vignere  methods,  etc.  Word  frequency  appendix. 
167  problems,  solutions.  173  figures.  236pp.  53/8  x  8.  T97  Paperbound  $1.95 

FLATLAND,  E.  A.  Abbot.  The  science-fiction  classic  of  life  in  a  2-dimensional  world  that  is 
considered  a  first-rate  introduction  to  relativity  and  hyperspace,  as  well  as  a  scathing 
satire  on  society,  politics  and  religion.  7th  edition.  16  Illus.  128pp.  5%  x  8. 

Tl  Paperbound  $1.00 


DOVER  BOOKS 

HOW  TO  FORCE  CHECKMATE,  F.  Reinfeld.  (Formerly  "Challenge  to  Chessplayers.")  No  board 
needed  to  sharpen  your  checkmate  skill  on  300  checkmate  situations.  Learn  to  plan  up  to 
3  moves  ahead  and  play  a  superior  end  game.  300  situations  diagrammed;  notes  and  full 
solutions.   111pp.  53/8   X  8.  T439   Paperbound   $1.25 

MORPHY'S  GAMES  OF  CHESS,  P.  W.  Sergeant,  ed.  Play  forcefully  by  following  the  techniques 
used  by  one  of  .the  greatest  chess  champions.  300  of  Morphy's  games  carefully  annotated  to 
reveal  principles.  Bibliography.  New  introduction  by  F.  Reinfeld.  235  diagrams,  x  +  352pp. 
53/fe  X  8.  T386  Paperbound  $1.75 

MATHEMATICAL  RECREATIONS,  M.  Kraltchlk.  Hundreds  of  unusual  mathematical  puzzlers  and 
odd  bypaths  of  math,  elementary  and  advanced.  Greek,  Medieval,  Arabic,  Hindu  problems; 
figurate  numbers,  Fermat  numbers,  primes;  magic,  Euler,  Latin  squares;  fairy  chess,  latruncles, 
reversi,  jinx,  ruma,  tetrachrome  other  positional  and  permutational  games.  Rigorous  solutions. 
Revised  second  edition.  181  illus.  330pp.  53/8  x  8.  T163  Paperbound  $1.75 

MATHEMATICAL  EXCURSIONS,  H.  A.  Merrill.  Revealing  stimulating  insights  into  elementary 
math,  not  usually  taught  in  school.  90  problems  demonstrate  Russian  peasant  multiplication, 
memory  systems  for  pi,  magic  squares,  dyadic  systems,  division  by  Inspection,  many  more. 
Solutions  to  difficult  problems.  50  illus.  53/8  x  8.  T350  Paperbound  $1.00 

MAGIC  TRICKS  &  CARD  TRICKS,  W.  Jonson.  Best  Introduction  to  tricks  with  coins,  bills, 
eggs,  ribbons,  slates,  cards,  easily  performed  without  elaborate  equipment.  Professional 
routines,  tips  on  presentation,  misdirection,  etc.  Two  books  bound  as  one:  52  tricks  with 
cards,  37  tricks  with  common  objects.  106  figures.  224pp.  53/3  x  8.        T909  Paperbound  $1.00 

MATHEMATICAL  PUZZLES  OF  SAM  LOYD,  selected  and  edited  by  M.  Gardner.  177  most  ingenious 
mathematical  puzzles  of  America's  greatest  puzzle  originator,  based  on  arithmetic,  algebra, 
game  theory,  dissection,  route  tracing,  operations  research,  probability,  etc.  120  drawings, 
diagrams.  Solutions.   187pp.  53/3  x  8.  T498  Paperbound  $1.00 

THE  ART  OF  CHESS,  J.  Mason.  The  most  famous  general  study  of  chess  ever  written.  More 
than  90  openings,  middle  game,  end  game,  how  to  attack,  sacrifice,  defend,  exchange,  form 
general  strategy.  Supplement  on  "How  Do  You  Play  Chess?"  by  F.  Reinfeld.  448  diagrams. 
356pp.  5%  X  8.  T463  Paperbound  $1.85 

HYPERMOOERN  CHESS  as  Developed  In  the  Games  of  Its  Greatest  Exponent,  ARON  NIMZOVICH, 
F.  Reinfeld,  ed.  Learn  how  the  game's  greatest  innovator  defeated  Alekhine,  Lasker,  and 
many   others;   and   use   these   methods   in   your  own   game.    180  diagrams.  228pp.   53/8   x  8. 

T448   Paperbound  $1.35 

A  TREASURY  OF  CHESS  LORE,  F.  Reinfeld,  ed.  Hundreds  of  fascinating  stories  by  and  about 
the  masters,  accounts  of  tournaments  and  famous  games,  aphorisms,  word  portraits,  little 
known  incidents,  photographs,  etc.,  that  will  delight  the  chess  enthusiast,  captivate  the 
beginner.   49   photographs   (14   full-page    plates),    12   diagrams.    315pp.    53/8    x   8. 

T458  Paperbound  $1.75 

A  NONSENSE  ANTHOLOGY,  collected  by  Carolyn  Wells.  245  of  the  best  nonsense  verses  ever 
written:  nonsense  puns,  absurd  arguments,  mock  epics,  nonsense  ballads,  "sick"  verses,  dog- 
Latin  verses,  French  nonsense  verses,  limericks.  Lear,  Carroll,  Belloc,  Burgess,  nearly  100 
other  writers.  Introduction  by  Carolyn  Wells.  3  indices:  Title,  Author,  First  Lines,  xxxiii  -f 
279pp.  53/8  X  8.  T499  Paperbound  $1.25 

SYMBOLIC   LOGIC  and  THE  GAME  OF  LOGIC,   Lewis  Carroll.  Two  delightful   puzzle   books  by 

the  author   of   "Alice,"    bound   as   one.    Both   works  concern    the   symbolic    representation    of 

traditional    logic   and    together   contain    more   than  500   ingenious,   amusing   and    instructive 

syllogistic  puzzlers.  Total  of  326pp.  53/8  x  8.  T492  Paperbound  $1.50 

PILLOW  PROBLEMS  and  A  TANGLED  TALE,  Lewis  Carroll.  Two  of  Carroll's  rare  puzzle  works 
bound  as  one.  "Pillow  Problems"  contain  72  original  math  puzzles.  The  puzzles  in  "A  Tangled 
Tale"  are  given  in  delightful  story  form.  Total  of  291pp.  53/3  x  8.        T493  Paperbound  $1.50 

PECK'S  BAD  BOY  AND  HIS  PA,  G.  W.  Peck.  Both  volumes  of  one  of  the  most  widely  read 
of  all  American  humor  books.  A  classic  of  American  folk  humor,  also  invaluable  as  a  portrait 
of  an  age.  100  original  illustrations.  Introduction  by  E.  Bleiler.  347pp.  53/3  x  8. 

T497  Paperbound  $1.35 


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j  ne  Spanish  stage  in 
Time  «* '  ^^e  de  Vega 

by  Hugo  Albert  Rennert 


The  dramatic  literature  of  Spain  in  the  16th  and  17th  centuries  exceeded  that 
other  European  nations  combined.  Lope  de  Vega  alone  wrote  over  1500  plays;  Ti| 
Molina  and  Luis  Velez  de  Guevara  produced  about  400  plays  each.  The  present 
a  history  of  that  feverish  age  of  theatrical  productivity.  With  thorough  scholl 
and  unfailing  readability,  it  chronicles  the  Golden  Age  of  Spanish  drama,  froj 
earliest  "autor  de  comedias,"  Lope  de  Rueda,  to  the  decline  of  the  Spanish  dr{ 
the  latter  half  of  the  17th  century. 

The  author  discusses  all  of  the  noteworthy  playwrights  of  the  period:  Lope  del 
Tirso  de  Molina,  Guevara,  Rojas,  and  many  others.  In  addition,  he  covers  all! 
aspects  of  the  drama  of  that  age:  origins  of  the  comedia,  other  types  of  pla\j 
duced  during  that  period,  famous  theaters,  costumes,  scenery,  music  and  dJ 
seating  arrangements,  behavior  of  audiences,  notable  players,  pirating  of  plaj 
mission  prices,  character  of  actors  and  actresses,  salaries  they  earned,  tr| 
players,  theater  companies,  Madrid,  Seville,  and  Valencia  as  theatrical  centers,! 
festivals,  private  performances  before  the  king,  opposition  of  churchmen  to  til 
and  actors,  decrees  regulating  theatrical  performances,  relation  of  Spanish  dr,| 
that  of  other  countries  (especially  England  and  France),  and  many  other  topic 

Although  this  book  is  the  definitive  study  in  English  of  the  Spanish  stage,  the 
reader  with  no  background  in  the  subject  will  find  it  readable  and  enjoyable.  SJ 
and  teachers  of  Spanish  literature  and  culture  will  want  to  add  it  to  their  libraj 
the  most  authoritative  account  of  the  great  era  of  Spanish  drama. 

UnlBridged,  unaltered  republication  of  original  text  (1909).  The  "List  of  Spanish] 
and  Actresses,  1560-1680"  appended  to  the  first  edition  has  been  omitted 
new  edition.  Appendixes.  Index,    xv  +  403pp.  5%  x  iVz.    TlllO    Paperbouncl 


A  DOVER  EDITION  DESIGNED  FOR  YEARS  OF  USE! 

We  have  spared  no  pains  to  make  this  the  best  book  possible.  Our  paper  is 
with  minimal  show-through;  it  will  not  discolor  or  become  brittle  with  age.  Pal 
sewn  in  signatures,  in  the  method  traditionally  used  for  the  best  books.  Boo( 
flat  for  easy  reference.  Pages  will  not  drop  out,  as  often  happens  with  papj 
held  together  with  glue.  The  binding  will  not  crack  and  split.  This  is  a  per 
book. 


